Pokemon: The Meteor's Shards
by Moonstruck-Mist
Summary: Many years have passed since the meteor that nearly destroyed the Pokemon world has passed. That story has long been forgotten, but when a new threat rises from the shards, it's up to Aaron the Rockruff and Shinko the Eevee to find and eliminate this threat, and finish the prophecy lost with time.
1. The Beginning

_/This is probably gonna be the first story I finish that's actually a multiple chapter book. I hope so at least. Actually, I updated every single chapter at once as soon as I was done with editing and stuff. Anyways, enjoy the book and have fun. Also, there may be a few grammatical errors. Sorry if I don't catch them all, but it can't be helped. We all make mistakes sometimes.  
Disclaimer: I only own the characters. I don't own Pokémon or the pictures._  
 _Warning: This story may contain swearing, blood, and other scenes that might be disturbing to younger children. You have been warned._

The sun shines high above Post Town, nothing to block its heart-warming and refreshing waves. The sweet smell of saltwater reaches the nose of any Pokémon lucky enough to be near the ocean at the moment, or at least have a strong sense of smell. Pokémon walk through the town excitedly, buying and selling anything that they'll need or not need, and some are even conversing in the square with each other. However, amongst them all, a lonely Rockruff named Aaron stood out from the crowd.

Aaron groaned and grunted as he was pushed to the side by many different kinds of Pokémon. He noticed that not even one of the larger Pokémon, even those who had actually been slightly tripped up by him, had glanced at his tiny form. He was already bruised from being hit by a Rampardos earlier that day, but the other Pokémon only seemed to be pushing it in as the hits caused multiple bruises that only became even worse against his already weak and battered body. He was sure that all the dirt and bruises along his body would take weeks to heal and clean fully, and that was even with the help of a few of his Oran berries.

After a bit more of being pushed around and being ignored, Aaron gave up trying to even let himself be recognized. With a slight whimper, he slowly limped out of the town. He could feel as confused stares from all of the Pokémon bore into his rock-hard fur, but just ignored it like they had all ignored him. His battered body and legs caused him to limp, which also made his movements slow and painful. He positively hated how it felt when his legs were almost broken from nearly being crushed several times. Not that he had any experience with it. He just hated the feeling overall.

Barley focusing on anything else, Aaron wandered into the nearby forest and limped for what felt like hours before he finally felt the fatigue take over his system, and he collapsed onto a riverbank. The adrenaline blocking most of the pain from his system finally went away, and he felt the full force of the bruises that covered his body. None of that was compared to how he felt emotionally. He couldn't quite explain it, but he felt a bit betrayed and hurt inside.

Through his mental complaining, a soft whimper reached his ears. He instantly knew it wasn't his as it sounded more feminine than masculine. Sighing lightly, he pushed himself to his paws and started to walk towards the voice. It seemed to follow down the river, but it still sounded rather far away. He was actually surprised he had even heard the voice in the first place.

After a bit, he could hear the whimpering stop, but the rustling of nearby leaves told him that this was the location that he had been looking for. He ruffled his bruised fur as he stepped forward and pushed his way through the bushes and to the other side. Almost instantly, his gaze landed on a small puff of brown and cream-colored fur. He instantly recognized the small ball of fur as an Eevee.

Shock flooded his system as he watched the small Pokémon laying there in the bushes. He couldn't believe what his eyes were even seeing. Eevee was such a rare Pokémon to find already, but here one was just lying behind a bush where literally anyone could find it. His shock was short-lasted, however, as he noticed that her body was covered in bruises much darker and more clustered than his own. It was almost as though she got into a fight and kept using the same part of her body to block.

Worry quickly took over what he felt, and so he padded over to check on her. His paw gently brushed against her fur, but he found her to be warm, and that even her heartbeat was normal. There was something wrong with this though. He could feel that she was scared just by her breath, but her heart only beat like she was in peace. It was as though she was asleep, but very much scared.

After a bit more poking around, Aaron felt the Eevee starting to stir, and quickly pulled away in fear. He only begged that she wasn't a feral, but his fear quickly faded when he saw her surprisingly bright blue eyes look into his. He felt his heart stop instantly as he noticed that the Eevee was staring right at him. Right back into his own eyes as if studying who he was. Either that, or she was checking if he was dangerous or not.

After a bit, her eyes pulled away from his own and shut once more. A sigh escaped Aaron's maw as he saw her slowly pushing and stretching her body. Her movements seemed a bit stressed and confused, but that was quick to fade away. It probably could have been from the bruises or because of how long she could have been sleeping. With how heavy her scent was around the area, it had to have been several hours that she had been.

Aaron sighed to himself as he stepped closer to the Eevee. In return, her ears twitched and she shifted slightly so that she was more or less looking away from him. Aaron could tell that she was tired, but he didn't give up as he still moved closer until he was lying right next to her. He could feel an odd warmth coming from her body, but thought nothing of it as he simply laid and tried to comfort her with his rocky pelt.

After a bit of the awkward silence, Aaron felt the Eevee slowly move away as though she were uncomfortable with the contact. This caused disappointment to flood Aaron's mind, and he slowly stood up and padded back over to her. This time, he didn't try to lay near her, but instead tried to get her up. He knew that he'd be able to get her to, but it would probably take a while for reasons that he didn't know about just yet.

"Why won't you just leave me to die?" Eevee asked him feeling as his soft, yet very rocky, pelt pushed against her own fluffy body. "I would expect you to abandon me just like the rest. Why don't you?"

"Well, it's because I probably know how you feel," Aaron responded which earned a slight flinch from the Eevee. "And why would I ever want to pass up the opportunity to help someone? You look positively terrible with all those bruises along your body. Perhaps I can bring you to my place where you can heal up."

The Eevee slowly turned and opened her bright blue eyes before she said to him, "I'd love to accept, but I don't think I can. I mean, thank you for this and all, but I'm absolutely nothing," she responded before looking over his own body. "And you look much worse than me right now. You should just leave me be here."

Aaron sighed and shrugged as he gripped her scruff with his sharp teeth. He couldn't care less about what she had just told him, but he really did want to help her. With a rough pull, he pulled her up from the ground and onto her unsteady paws. He could feel her wobble lightly, but he held a firm grip on her collar with a raised head.

"Come on, Eevee," Aaron mumbled through her thick fur. "There's really no need to think at all like that. I mean, it doesn't matter how bruised I am. I can still walk, but you're barely able to stand as it is. That reminds me. Please tell me what attacked you. I noticed just how bruised your pelt was when I first saw you, and it really made me curious."

The Eevee growled and looked away as he spoke about her battered pelt and markings. After a bit of hesitation, she responded by saying, "I don't remember what attacked me, but it just said that I wasn't meant to be here. And there's no need to call me Eevee. Please just call me Shinko. It's what the weird being called me."

Aaron nodded as she told him what had happened, but still tried to get her to walk alongside him. He could feel as she tried to stand upright, but there was something wrong with her back-left paw. He could feel it as he eventually got her to lean on him. Her leg was held just barely above the ground, and she would flinch every time she would have to put it onto the ground.

"Are you okay on that leg?" Aaron asked already noticing that she really wasn't okay. "There aren't that many bruises on this side of your body, but that seems to be the worst injury that you sustained. Would you like me to carry you to town, or can you still go like this? And please call me Arron. It was nice to meet you, Shinko"

Shinko shrugged lightly and tried to continue walking forward. With every step she took, Aaron could see that she was in pain, but didn't try anything as she tried to walk. Sure, he wanted to carry her back, but he was sure that she'd be fine until they got back to his base. He was quickly shaken from these thoughts as he heard a light groan and rushed beside Shinko to assist in her walking.

"Thanks for that, Aaron," Shinko mumbled as she leaned onto Aaron once more. "I'm not sure if I can walk very long after all of this. I feel like I've only gotten a few seconds of sleep."

"Then perhaps you should spend a bit of time at my place then," Aaron suggested with a soft smile. "Not that you have to if you don't want to. I just want to be able to help you since you're so... tired."

Shinko nodded as she could feel Aaron's warmth all along her body. She may have been a few inches smaller than the rock-hard pup, but she could still lean on him like it was natural. She shivered softly as a cold breeze blew through the air, and tried to push herself to walk even faster. Sure, she was tired and all, but she'd rather be tired and quick than have to sleep out here in the woods. She had been out here for what felt like days, but this was the first time she had seen anyone but the shadow. She didn't want to even think, let alone talk, about it.

After what felt like hours of run-walking, the duo finally returned to a dirt road, which they then followed north and close to a town. Aaron quickly turned left at a split path, and headed for what looked like a small hut. As they walked closer, Shinko's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the place that Aaron had brought her to.

To her, the place was absolutely enormous. It had a completely brown outside, and the trail leading up to it was rocky, but the lawn on either side was pure grass. She saw that rocks completely lined the doorway and all around the base, and several fence-like structures stood behind and to the sides of the hut.

"This place looks positively amazing!" Shinko gasped forgetting about her pain for a split second, flinching as she did. "Do you really live here?! It's blood huge for a Pokémon of your size! Are you sure you even want me to stay here? I really can find somewhere else if you'd like."

"I told you that it's okay, Shinko!" Aaron chirped as he looked up to his little hut. "And about this being my place? It really belonged to my brother before me, but he headed of to Treasure Town to take his rightful place at the Wigglytuff Guild. And it's not really that large. He was a Midnight Lycanroc after all. That's just about a single foot taller than me. Actually, that's almost two feet taller than you, so I guess I can see where you're going with that."

"My point exactly," Shinko whispered as she limped closer to the entrance of the house. "I can't believe that someone would just hand this down to you. You'd think that they found someplace better to live. Either that or they decided to get a new house and hand this one down to you."

Aaron shrugged in return as he padded up to the entering door and pushed it open. He looked around the one-room living area and sighed lightly. All the way in the back was his brother's old nest. Above that was a small window, and to both the left and right were stone pillars with scratch marks clawed into it. Near the front-left was a wooden table, and to the front-right was a basket of apples and several jugs of water. His brother had it all set up like this, and never did he think that it would all be his one day.

"This place kind of feels familiar to me," Shinko mumbled under her breath a she stepped forward and looked around the one-room hut. "Not like in a real-world aspect, but kind of like a familiar dream. I swear I might have seen this place in one of my dreams."

Aaron hadn't exactly heard what she had told him, but still nodded as he stepped up to the nest. It was just about four feet in length, so it'd be perfect for the two of them to actually share. With a sigh, Aaron carefully pulled the nest in two before fluffing them back up to their original shape. Sure, he could make it where they rested together, but she needed privacy.

Shinko sighed as she limped behind him and looked at the nests. He could feel as her hot breath brushed against his fur, and her bright blue eyes watched over the bed as if calculating how they were. Before long, she took the one on the left and quickly settled down.. She seemed to be doing much better than before, so Aaron let her do as she wanted to. If she got worse, Aaron could probably head to town and ask around for a doctor or something.

After a bit of thought to himself, Aaron could hear soft snoring coming from Shinko and laughed softly. She had fallen asleep so quickly, and this caused a small smile to form on Aaron's maw. After checking that she was fully asleep, Aaron silently backed out of the house-like structure and headed to town. His battered and bruised body still needed to be healed, but so did her own as well. He just hoped he had a few Oran berry or two for the both of them.

When he reached town, the first thing he noticed was that the square was actually quite empty now. Just a few hours ago, at least it felt that way, it had been completely filled to the brim with humongous Pokémon, but it was practically empty now! He took the serene silence to heart and rushed over to Kangaskhan's storage where he then retrieved two Oran berries, which he luckily had, before rushing back to base.

When he entered once more, he noticed that Shinko had awoken, and was now sitting next to the window that looked out to the world. Aaron could tell that she was thinking of something, but was unsure what it was until he stepped closer and noticed that she was sitting normally and without pain.

"Are you okay over here?" Aaron asked padding over with the two berries on his maw. "Here. I got you an Oran berry for those injures of yours. It'll help to heal you and get you back to your normal strength."

"Thank you very much," Shinko mumbled as she took one of the berries straight from his maw and bit into it.

As soon as she did, she could feel as the juice started to flow down her chin. It had a rather sweet taste, but she didn't mind as she quickly ate what remained of the already very small berry. Sure, it wasn't very much at all, but it felt so refreshing to eat it. It kind of reminded her of this sweet treat that she had once before, but she just couldn't remember what it was or where she had gotten it.

"It's no problem at all," Aaron laughed lightly as he bit into his own berry with a playful grin. "I just want to make sure that you're at the top of your game. I mean, not that we're going to be doing anything for a bit. Your leg _is_ broken after all, so it only seems fit that you rest."

"There ain't no rest for the wicked in this world," Shinko mumbled as she bent her head and hid her eyes with shadows. "That includes those who came here to only cause problems for people like you. It's my fault anything in this world is happening. I'm the cause."

"What are you talking about?" Aaron asked her tilting his head. "What do you mean by you're only here to cause problems for us? You've done nothing of the sort. Well, you haven't just yet, but I believe that you can be a great person if you wanted to be!"

Shinko sighed and shook her head as though he had the wrong point. She knew he wouldn't understand what she had meant, and so she racked her brains for ideas. If he really was this clueless, it would be best not to tell, but she just couldn't live with herself like that. Eventually, she had an idea and raised her head to look at him.

"As soon as I'm healed up, I'm going to take you somewhere where we can talk undisturbed," she told him tapping her paw lightly. "I don't care whether you want to or not, but we'll be going. It's pretty far away, so you have some time I guess."

Aaron nodded to her slightly confused, but he just shook it off as though he knew what she was talking about. Of course, he had next to no idea about what the hell she was saying, but he tried to go along with it. Now that he thought about it, he had next to no idea about who she was, but he could use that time to figure out what she meant. She must have been here for a while if she was talking like this.

"Right. I thank you for that offer," Aaron told her as he sat down and scratched behind his ears. "I just hope we can find out who you are and why you're here. If anything, that's actually the top on my list to complete. I hope we can find that out very soon."

Aaron suddenly stopped when he didn't hear her respond, and turned only to see that Shinko had fallen asleep once again. He sighed softly before shaking his head and smiled as he slowly padded into his nest alongside her. Quickly wishing her goodnight, he laid down and slowly started to fall asleep. He got an odd feeling just before he fell asleep, but it still didn't bother him as he fell under.

Somewhere else in the world, a dark figure loomed over what looked to be a bowl of water. Instead of its own reflection, the creature was instead looking over the Pokémon world from wherever the moon was currently located. He was smirking softly, but showed no sign of anything other than joy in what it saw. The world was silent and dark, and that was all it needed.

"It's time," the creature whispered before disappearing into the shadows around it, leaving the bowl behind to be used for another. "The meteorite grows even stronger, and so do I."


	2. Accepting the Invitation

_/Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the pictures. I just own the story and the characters. Thank you, and see you all next time._

The moon's silver rays of light gently touch down upon the slumbering Pokémon on Post Town and the surrounding areas. Amongst the night, the soft chirping and singing of Kricketot and Kricketune fills the air with a sense of peace and joy, but something didn't see it the same way. Instead, it saw it all as wrong and an error. Something that it, and it alone, could fix for the good of this world that it roamed.

As it mumbled something to itself, the dark, masked figure gently poked up from the dirt-laden path and started on its way forward and north of where it had come from. As it dragged itself through the ground, no sign that it was there, an odd darkness followed the creature. Heck, even the song of the Kricketot and Kricketune had stopped as the mysterious beast continued to dig. That was until it came across a split in the road, and found that another dark shadow, one that stood on all fours, was in front of it.

"So, you have come to finally rid of the last piece of the puzzle?" the mysterious beast hissed as though expecting what the shadow-figure had actually come for. "Maybe it is best that you do not even try to find the missing piece, as they are protected under the eye of Arceus."

"I do not care for them right at the moment, Lonliness," the shadow whispered in anger and hate. "You know that I gave up many, many moons ago for my health and safety. I am only here to spread my darkness to the filth and scum of this world."

"Then you think too hard in trying to fight against them, Glitchlett," Lonliness whispered softly before looking up and at the glitch Pokémon. "You must have all of the puzzle. Only then will we all finally be invincible and all powerful, but you must find and eliminate Arceus first."

As the figure spoke, the cover of darkness faded showing a glitching Diglett with no face and blurred out features. In front of it now stood a bloody, eyeless Eevee with cuts all along its body like it had been abused and attacked, but never had it been healed. The two looked at each other before letting out a sigh of both impatience and boredom.

They both looked at each other once more before they felt another presence coming closer, and turned to see the Nightmare-Pokémon himself as he came closer to them. What looked to be silver film was held in his claw-like hands as it stepped closer and watched them both. It seemed to be debating what to do, but instead held up the silver film before it shattered.

"It is already done, pawns," the legendary Pokémon told them as its hand fell and looked over them with bright red eyes. "The Eevee and Rockruff's memories have been completely erased once more, and the meteor's power is growing once more. Soon enough, it will all be done, and we can finally crush and rule the Pokémon World once again. just like when those pathetic humans made us."

Glitchlett nodded, but confusedly looked at the Darkrai. He had not been expecting this natural creature to actually help the glitches try to rule the world. Sure, he did want revenge on the ones who had tried to erase his memories, but they had never expected him to actually work alongside their offensive group.

"Thank you for your assistance, but you did leave a bit of fight in them, right?" Lonliness asked as blood trickled from one of her eyes. "I don't want this to be too easy. Plus, it'll be even more fun when we finally corrupt and make them our own paws. I'm sure you agree."

"I regret it almost as much as I do the first time, but I did let them keep some of their fight," Darkrai said regrettably as he remembered the Piplup and Chimchar who had stopped him years ago. "I hate that you made me do so instead of just stop them right then, but you are the boss. Or at least, _he_ is."

As he spoke, the glitch Pokémon both nodded before a hated feeling started to come over them. They could feel as the sun started to rise, and nodded before they disappeared into the shadows once more. Darkrai was the last tot remain, and looked over to the place he had just come from. His red eyes glared at it for a few seconds before he too disappeared from sight, unaware that he had been spotted by bright blue eyes.

Shinko sat on the roof of the house that she had found herself sleeping and watching over the dirt trail that she and Aaron had walked up yesterday. She didn't understand what those Pokémon she had just seen were, but she knew that two of them were very unnatural, and that the third had to be some sort of new Pokémon. She had seen it in her dream, but wasn't quite sure of what it was doing. Just that it held silver film from its hand.

She quickly shook her head and jumped down before pushing her way into the house. She looked over to Aaron, who still rested peaceful in his nest as though nothing had been happening. She didn't want to alert him, so she instead went back to her nest and laid down as though she had never woken in the first place.

After what felt like hours, Shinko finally heard Aaron yawn, and slowly stood and stretched her exhausted and sore muscles. Neither spoke a word to each other, but they both did turn and nod respectfully to the other. This was kept up for another few minutes before both had finally gotten any traces of sleep out of their system.

"I had the oddest of dreams last night," Aaron admitted as they both sat at the table with a small bowl of water and an apple each. "It wasn't like any of my first dreams where I would be playing with my brother though. This one kind of gave me the creeps."

"Well, go ahead and spit it out!" Shino chirped annoyed at him. "I'd like to hear about this dream you had."

"Well, it actually started out pretty normal for once," Aaron began closing his eyes as though trying to recount the story. "I was running around in this open field full of flowers, but I felt an odd presence nearby. I just ignored it, but then came this dark figure that reached out and held my paw with its hand. I don't know why, but my world suddenly went black, and when I opened my eyes next, I was in a dark cave. All around me were these odd figures that looked like letters, but I could tell that they were Pokémon as they seemed to be watching me. After that, everything started to become corroded, and this Eevee appeared before me. She was all cut up, but she never spoke as she looked over me. I... I don't know what happened after that. I think I blacked out, but I can't quite remember. It's all blurry and I can't remember it any longer."

As he opened his eyes once more, he saw that Shinko was looking at him with remorseful and sad eyes. She seemed to be trying to understand what he had gone through, but he knew that she would be unable to as she probably didn't dream whatever it was that he had dreamed. After a bit, she then shook her head and sighed.

"I don't understand that at all," she admitted before looking up into his eyes and tilting her head. "It sounds almost like some sort of dream Pokémon entered into your own dream last night, but what could even bend such a thing to their will? I don't think any such creature in this world could even do such a thing!"

Aaron sighed and shrugged before taking another bite from his already almost finished apple. He really didn't know what to make or think of it, but he never let that bother him as he only wanted to ignore it. He wasn't really the thinking or logical type either, so any thought into this problem would have just made his head hurt even worse than before.

After they both finished their breakfasts, the duo headed outside the house, where Shinko then followed Aaron to what looked like a giant Pelipper made of wood and stone. She had been slightly distracted by the loud noises coming from the square, but that quickly disappeared when she saw the view from over the cliff, and rushed over to look at the salty ocean.

"Wow," she whispered softly as she watched the waves roll and sparkle in the sun. "This is true beauty in the real world. Wouldn't you agree with that, Aaron?"

"I would," Aaron began as he padded up to the Pelipper Post Office, "but I'm a bit busy with something else at the moment, so perhaps you can show me later instead of right now."

Shinko sighed and spun to snap something at him, but only caught a glimpse of his tail as he disappeared into the building. She sighed and puffed her cheeks lightly before instantly becoming distracted by the ocean once more. She sighed and looked at the waves as they rolled and shimmered in an oddly familiar pattern. She was sure that she had seen a similar pattern some time ago, but was unable to remember for some reason. She quickly shrugged it off as though she only forgot about it.

After a bit, Shinko laid down on the sunny cliff and started to hum to herself. She couldn't remember the song, but she could remember just how it went. She kept this soft tune of for several minutes before she felt an odd exhaustion take over her system, and soon fell asleep to the crashing waves and sweet sea-scent.

Inside the building, Aaron was currently chatting with a Pelipper, who then gave a small scroll that it had been searching for. The scroll had this odd print on it, but Aaron didn't mind as he rolled up and put it next to him on the ground.

"So, do you really believe that Aggron will be willing to make changes to the form that you sent in?" Pelipper asked looking over a sheet of paper that Aaron had brought in. "I mean, I know that he's nice and all, but it's not like he'll be easily persuaded. Perhaps you could just ask her as a recruit instead of as your partner?"

"I told him before that I would find a suitable partner before I actually came to work at his guild, Pelipper," Aaron said rolling his eyes lightly. "It just turns out that I found her a bit sooner than I had expected, and that's my final decision. Just... Just deliver the message for me. It's all I ask of you."

After a bit, Pelipper sighed and nodded before it took the sheets of paper and rolled them into a small cloth. Aaron really wondered how he did it with wings, but never pushed the subject with him. With a slight nod, Pelipper then took off and headed out over the ocean. Aaron was left behind in the office, but soon left as he had no more business left within the building.

Once outside, Aaron saw Shinko laying by the cliff face peacefully sleeping. He was quite sure that he hadn't been in there that long but he often did lose track of time when talking to anyone who was quite interesting to him. Not that Shinko wasn't interesting, but he could just feel as time ticked by when near her. It was as though she was some sort of clock, and he was the one trying to get her to work correctly.

He silently shook that thought off and padded over to her sleeping form. He laughed as he noticed how she laid so similarly to he did when he slept in a peaceful night. After a bit of watching her, he also laid down, but didn't let himself fall asleep. Instead, he just watched as the ocean waves swept across and slammed into the rocks beneath them. The glistening rays of the sun bounced off of them and showered the world in all of their glory. It truly was a wondrous sight.

Aaron didn't realize it until he next opened his eyes, but he felt that he had fallen asleep some time ago. He knew this from how it was now the moon that hung over them instead of the sun with all its warmth. He slowly sat up, and stretched his sore muscles. He could barely feel himself moving due to just how sore he was, and from probably how long he had been resting as well.

With a sigh, he then turned to look at Shinko. He saw that she was also awake, but her eyes were glazed over as though she was long in thought. Smiling softly, he padded over and gently nuzzled her. She instantly stirred and spun to look at him with a bit of shock and surprise on her face and within her eyes. That soon faded and she laughed softly.

"Great to see that you're finally awake, sleepyhead," she laughed. "While you were out, I had enough time to get us both an apple and some fresh water. Also, a Pelipper came by and dropped this scroll at your paws. What is it anyways?"

As she spoke, her tail swept from behind her showing a large note that was held shut by a silk-like band. Without even waiting for his response, she expertly used her tail and pulled the silk away from it causing the note to unroll and, strangely enough, flatten along the ground. Aaron turned to her and gave a sigh before then padding up to the note, and started to read it under the moon's light.

"This note is to be read by the eyes of Aaron Rockruff and Shinko Eevee only," he mumbled softly before tilting his head lightly before going to read the rest. "It is great to inform you that I, Aggron, have accepted you both into my Academy of Exploration and Training. At sunrise tomorrow, our continental traveler, Alakazam, will be taking you from your home and straight to our academy. Please be sure to have everything you need as we will be judging on preparation as well. We thank you very much for your time in sending applications and waiting for this. We hope to see you very soon."

Shinko looked up from the letter only to see a shocked Aaron who could barely even form words, which showed just how surprised and shocked he was. She wasn't quite sure of why he was s shocked, but maybe he'd tell when he could finally form the words that he so badly wanted to say to her.

"I can't believe that we were accepted by him so quickly," Aaron mumbled after what felt like hours of an odd silence. "I never expected him to allow it, but he replied so quickly, and he accepted us both! Th-this amazing, Shinko!"

"What exactly is amazing about it?" Shinko asked him looking at the note as though it were some sort of encrypted message. "You should know that I don't understand what any of this. I just woke up in a forest where you found me and took me home. I know next to nothing about this world."

"I guess I kind of forgot about that detail as well," Aaron laughed before he quickly rolled up the note. "Well, Aggron was a legendary explorer, and so he started his own guild when he finally retired from the line of duty. His guild is only second to Wigglytuff in recruits and graduations, but that makes his guild even harder to get through. That's why this chance is so legendary. It's because we've actually been accepted into one of the greatest guilds of the century!"

Shinko sighed at his explanation, but at least it did make a bit more sense than what she had thought of it before. Sure, there were still a few things that she couldn't understand in it all, but she wasn't going to complain about any of it. As long as she had a slight explanation of what the letter had meant, she would be okay with anything.

"So, I'm just supposed to believe that this Pokémon wants to get us into his guild and train us to become what he was at one time?" Shinko asked tilting her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'd much rather live a life without much fighting or battling at all."

"But you know that it's impossible to live that life for very long in this world," a voice whispered inside of her head. "It is best that you do what is requested, and without arguments. You saw the beast that will come after you if you don't. You will die."

Shinko quickly looked around as fear shook through her system. She was unaware as Aaron tried to get her attention, but was quickly snapped from her thoughts when she felt his paw touch her shoulder. She panted heavily as she turned to him with fearful eyes and tears starting to well up in them.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Aaron asked as he gently hugged her trying to comfort her. "Why did you just start screaming and crying? I thought you would be excited to hear that we'd become famous and be able to help others?"

Shinko quickly shook her head and nuzzled into him before responding by saying, "I-it's not that, A-Aaron," she cried lightly as she tried to keep close to him. "I just heard this odd voice, a-and it told me that I'd die if I didn't join you in this g-guild."

Aaron sighed lightly as he tried to comfort her, and get her to stop crying. Before long, he finally got her to stop crying, but his fur was matted by her tears, which almost made him weak and tired due to his weakness of water. He quickly shook it off before taking her, and slowly leaning her against his body.

"Thank you," she whispered softly as she then took the scroll that they had received. "L-let's g-go home for the n-night. We need to b-be up early to-tomorrow, right?"

Aaron nodded softly to her question before slowly padding away from the cliff, and back to the house. He slowly opened the door, and pushed Shinko in before he followed her inside and to their nests. They both collapsed into their nests somewhat exhaustedly before closing their eyes. Immediately, the duo both fell asleep, and let the world fade away from them.

A dark figure holds a stone in its hand. The glowing rock seems to be not of this world, but from another galaxy altogether. Immediately, the figure crushes the rock and steps forward. It seems to be looking for something, but it seems unable to find what it has been searching for. It knew the answer was nearby, but was unsure just how far away it was.

As it walked, a familiar glow started to form around it, showing hundreds of thousands of meteorite-like stones within the walls. It growled knowing just what had happened, before a large force of psychic energy slammed into it, and sent it flying.

"You have finally come," a robotic voice whispered lightly. "I have waited so long to finally find the one who woke me up. It is time for you to die... again."


	3. Let the Training Begin

_/Disclaimer: I still don't own Pokémon or the pictures. Just the story and characters as always._

As the sun slowly starts to rise over the horizon, two familiar forms meet near the crossroads where they had the previous night. The torn apart Eevee named Lonliness stood in front of the broken and glitching Glitchlett. They both stared at each other before Lonliness laughed lightly. Glitchlett watched confused before she turned to see the sun rising, but didn't feel that hated feeling.

"The time is coming closer for us to finally take what we must control," she whispered lightly as she bled from her hundreds of bruises and cuts. "All that remains is that we get the meteor and gain the powers that they hold deep within them. Don't you agree with me, Glitchlett?"

"I have no say in the matter, Lonliness," Glitchlett sighed as it dug closer to the broken and torn Eevee. "You know that I, unlike you, can't feel the emotion of betrayal, joy, or even hope. I am just a glitch that it haunted by its evolution. I only want to tear the world apart. I've never cared for being a ruler."

Lonliness sighed at what he said before looking to the sky as it grew even brighter. She knew exactly what Glitchlett meant, but she didn't care about any of it. All she wanted was power, and to finally have someone who cared for her. She'd kill for it, and everyone stayed away from her because of it.

"It is best that we leave now," Glitchlett sighed to the Eevee. "I can't stand in the sun like you can. Even then, you can't last forever in this form under such powerful rays. You'll eventually shrivel up and die like all the rest of the glitches in this world."

Lonliness looked back to him before she let out a growl, but still nodded lightly. She knew that he spoke the truth, but she hated it as much as anybody. All she wanted was to be free from restraints. Just like her predecessors, she wanted to be free from the chains that held her down and onto the earth.

Glitchlett sighed as he suddenly disappeared, the sun rising just behind them by now. Lonliness could feel the force of it bearing into her skin, and she too quickly faded away like last time. As soon as they had disappeared, the sun raised over the horizon and lit the world in its glorious and warming light.

Back in the house, Shinko let out a loud yawn as she slowly rolled and stretched in her nest. She let out a loud groan as she slowly opened her eyes, and felt as her bones popped back into place from when she was sleeping. During her stretches, she accidentally kicked Aaron directly in his forehead, which instantly woke the sleeping pup.

A loud yip escaped his maw as he hurriedly pulled back and raised his paws to his forehead. Shinko hurriedly stood and padded over to check on him, finding a rather large bruise in the shape of her paw directly on his forehead. She gently laughed at it, but she quickly regretted it as he stood and slammed his own paw into her forehead. This caused her to flinch back a bit and left a bruise of his own paw imprinted in her forehead.

"I finally have my revenge on you," he laughed at her gently nuzzling her bruise before she nuzzled his. "At least we now have a mark of each other on our bodies where they'll be most visible. At least everyone will know that we're together now."

"You do understand how weird you just made that sound, right?" Shinko laughed as she pulled away from him and snickering at what he had said to her. "You made it sound like we're in some sort of relationship, but I guess we kind of could be if we thought of it like that."

"I'd love to think of it as that, but we're only pups, Shinko," Aaron told her before going back to stretching his muscles. "We can't actually become mates until we've reached the tender age of three years. I'm sorry to say it, but any younger is found as weird in this world."

As he was explaining, Shinko turned to the door after hearing a light knock. She nodded knowing just what Aaron had said, but was still slightly distracted by the knock. She silently stood up and padded over to the door, which confused Aaron as he watched her pad over. She silently opened the door, and was met by the rather large face of an Alakazam.

"I see that you both have finally woken up," the Alakazam sighed as she stumbled away in shock. "There is no need to fear me, pups. I am here on Aggron's orders to pick you up and take you to out base. At least, I am supposed to believe that you are the two who I have been chosen to grab. If not, then I am incredibly sorry for the mix-up."

"Actually, I believe we are the ones that you are looking for," Aaron said as he padded over and tried to get Shinko to calm down. "We got a letter just last night that you would be coming for us in the morning. Sorry about the wait and all, but we were unaware of just how early you would be coming at."

"That is fine with me, for I got to meet the quite the interesting Pokémon during my wait," Alakazam said before quickly turning back to them. "Now, if you are ready, I believe it is time that we head to Aggron's guild. Aggron is a very busy man, so I'm quite sure that we won't want to keep him waiting for much longer."

Shinko and Aaron nodded to each other before they, along with Alakazam, exited the house. They walked several feet down the dirt road, but soon stopped, and gathered into a small circle. Shinko and Aaron reached out their paws, and gently held it on Alakazam's hand before they felt the world being torn away from right under their feet, and they both felt weightlessness as Alakazam use his Teleport.

Shinko's eyes hurriedly slammed shut as she then let the weightlessness drag her through the world and to wherever they were headed. Aaron and Alakazam's eyes had closed as well, but it was more instinct than any other reason. Before long, the trio felt as they touched on the ground, and, after stumbling a few times, opened their eyes to find them at the base of some stone stairs.

"Well, this is where I shall leave you both," Alakazam told them as he pulled his hands away, and looked up the staircase like it held distant memories. "Aggron shall be waiting for you at the top. You are to climb this staircase with no assistance and help. You have as much time as you need to get up there, but try to get up there before the sun has completely risen. Good luck."

Without giving the duo a chance to respond, Alakazam disappeared from their sights. They both stood their surprised before they then looked up the large flight of stairs. Neither of them could see the top of the stairs, but this only fueled their determination to get to the top. Shinko was the first to show this as she quickly started up the stairs. Aaron soon followed after her.

Shinko looked at the stairs determinedly as she scrambled up them perfectly. Each of her steps barley made contact as she practically flew up the stairs. That small voice she had heard the previous night was telling her that this was what she was meant to do. That she was supposed to climb these stairs and prove that she wasn't just a powerful Pokémon, but that she would do everything in her power just what she could do.

Aaron had a completely different reason than her own, and it was shown through his determination of climbing. He wanted to be like his brother, but he wanted to be even better than them at the same time. He just wanted to prove that he was just as powerful as them, if not even more so. That was his goal, and that was his reason for doing this alongside Shinko.

The two ran up the stairs for what felt like hours. Shinko would occasionally slow down so that Aaron could catch up, but she never did stop. Aaron would occasionally stop to catch his breath, but he only found it harder as they got higher and higher. They both found this to be a challenge as they were being deprived of the oxygen that they would need.

"I can't believe we've been climbing for this long," Aaron panted barely able to take another step as his lungs cried for oxygen. "I feel like we've been tricked into climbing to our deaths. I'm starving beyond hunger. I can barely breathe enough oxygen to keep alive any longer."

"I know what you mean," Shinko growled as she forced herself to move her weak and heavy paws. "I can feel as my oxygen is cut off, and that my body is slowly shutting itself down. It hurts so much, but I have to push myself beyond anything I've ever done before."

They both grit their teeth, and gave one final push to reach the top. As they did, they felt the ground go even right beneath their paws, causing them to fall flat on an oddly even surface. Both let out a startled yip as both were sure that neither of them had been close to the top of the staircase.

"Looks like both of them finally made it," a rather old, yet still very powerful, voice whispered. "What exactly was their timing, Alakazam? How long did it take for them to get all the way here?"

"It only took nearly thirty minutes for it to end, Sir Aggron," Alakazam responded with a light chuckle. "That's the quickest timing we've gotten yet if I'm not mistaken."

"It is indeed, Alakazam," Aggron laughed as he stepped closer to the barely breathing Pokémon. "I commend you for making it all the way up here without passing out like all the others. Congratulations on passing the test that begins your career, pups."

Shinko panted heavily as her vision started to become dotted black, but she still forced herself to her paws and nodded. She wasn't ready to black out just yet. Aaron, on the other hand, was barely breathing as it was. Sure, he was trying as hard as he could to move, but his vision was completely black, and he couldn't at all breathe. Alakazam and Aggron both noticed this, and they were all teleported off the top of the staircase, and down to the bottom where they could all breathe normally.

At the bottom, Shinko could feel as rich oxygen flooded back into her lungs, and allowed her to breathe naturally. It took a bit longer for Aaron to get the same treatment, as he slowly could feel as his muscles came back. Once he had stood, they both looked over to Aggron and Alakazam with looks of slight confusion and pride seeing as of how neither had passed out.

Shinko was the first to fully recover, and once she did, she slowly stretched her muscles trying to get them to get the oxygen that they needed back. Unlike her, Aaron needed to take a bit more time as his body had been put under a bit more stress than her own. Sure, they had both been through the exact same thing, but he had been less than prepared for how long it would take for them to complete the training exercise.

Once she had been able to recover the entirety of her body, Shinko slowly shivered and looked back over to Aggron. He seemed to be smiling to them, but she could see something that was hidden just beneath that smile. Something that had even deeper meaning than what she could explain by herself. Shinko quickly shook it off, however, and smiled back instead of trying to find out what the hell his smile was about.

"It's really great to finally meet you, Sir Aggron," Aaron panted once he was back to is normal shape. "It's so great to finally meet you after waiting so long. It's such an honor to be accepted by you for a chance to actually make it here."

Aggron only nodded in response before turning to Alakazam. The two seemed to communicate using telepathy before they then turned back to Aaron and Shinko. A bit of pride shone in both of their eyes as they looked over them.

"It's great to meet you as well, Aaron," Aggron said with a joyful smile. "We have long been waiting for your application, and it is such an honor to finally have you here. And it is also an honor to meet you as well, Shinko. We were quite surprised to see the last minute change, but we were nonetheless excited to find that you were to come as well."

"It is great to meet you as well, Aggron," Shinko said with a slight smile. "I have heard only great things about you from Aaron. It is great to actually meet you after all I heard from this little pup."

Aggron nodded to them before he spun on his powerful feet, and he started to walk away with Alakazam. Slightly confused, Shino and Aaron followed after them as well. They both knew that this wouldn't be as easy as it seemed, and that they'd have even more to go through. Shinko knew that this was only just the beginning of the true path that they were being taken down.

The small group of Pokémon walked until the sun had set well behind them. Shinko could feel as exhaustion flooded her system, but still tried her hardest to keep awake. Aaron seemed to be suffering from the same thing, but he was still more than pumped for another few miles. Alakazam and Aggron weren't at all tired, as they knew had been taking the same route for many years.

They continued to wander until there was absolutely no light left for them to see with. Aggron then deemed it fit to stop, and they all started to set up camp. Well, Aggron and Alakazam did while Shinko and Aaron went out to find food and water for them to use. They were both silent as they padded away from Aggron and Alakazam in search of supplies.

While they were out, Shinko mainly focused on the ground while Aaron hummed to himself. Neither of them were in the mood for communication, but they both wanted to say something so badly to the other. Maybe it was because of the training, or possibly because of how long they had been walking, but both felt kind of awkward about being near each other at the moment.

After what felt like another hour of collecting berries and other types of food, the duo headed back to the camp, where they then found Aggron and Alakazam waiting for them near a raging fire. They both sighed lightly as they put the food in separate piles, but didn't eat any. Neither of them felt hungry enough to even take a single bite. Alakazam seemed to notice this as he sighed and lowered his head.

"I think we best get back to base as soon as we can, Sir Aggron," Alakazam told him using his Telepathy. "These two look tired as anything I've ever seen before. They've already made it so far, so what would a bit of mercy do to them?"

"As I told you while we were coming here, we won't let them get any mercy," Aggron mumbled back into the link. "Just like in those dungeons, we have to push them beyond their limits. It's better that we get them prepared for worse than show any mercy."

"And how do you think Aaron's brother would respond when I had to tell him that his brother had died?" Alakazam asked with a slight growl. "You know just what Leo can do to us! He'll kill both of as soon as he gets the news."

"Then we won't speak anything of it, Alakazam," Aggron growled, spitting his name like it was something vile to him. "If they die, then they'll die, but if they live, then they'll become the greatest explorers ever. That's the end of the story, so drop this argument, and let's get some rest."

Alakazam sighed lightly before he nodded and looked over to Aaron and Shinko. Cuddling close to each other, the duo had long since fallen asleep. Alakazam eventually gave a soft nod once more before he closed his eyes to fall asleep. He just couldn't believe what Aggron was telling him now. He always thought that Aggron was an understanding Pokémon, but this was all contrary to how he believed he had always acted before.

Alakazam just couldn't think straight anymore, and so he just let it slip from him, and away from his worries. With all that out of his mind, Alakazam eventually let the darkness consume him. With no thought, he now floated in the dark void void of sleep, waiting for the sun to rise in a few hours.

Darkrai growled something as he floated through a dark cave. The cave held many meteorite-like stones, but none were glowing like the ones that he had been looking for. He was sure that his intel had lied to him, but was unsure if he had done it intentionally, or because he had been scared off by the beast that had come from the meteor that had been long since destroyed.

Growling, Darkrai just let it float over his skin as he floated into the cave faster. His red eyes scanned everything until he finally found himself in the middle of a large circle of glowing meteorites. The dark-type growled as he knew where he was. The exact same space where his information had come from.

"So, you have come here as well?" a voice whispered lightly. "It's quite disappointing if you ask me. The first to come was a glitch, and the second to come is the Pokémon of Nightmares himself. You must be getting so desperate if you're wanting to capture me like this."

"And you can really say something like that?" Darkrai growled as he hurriedly looked around for the source of the voice. "You've been hiding in this cave ever since you came to our world. How would you know what our goals even were, Deoxys?"

Darkrai gave out a loud cry as a powerful attack suddenly slammed into his chest. He slammed into a meteorite wall with a loud crash, but quickly stood once more. He growled and looked to where the attack had come from, but found that nobody was around. He knew that he wasn't alone, but he knew that his opponent was much stronger than he was on his own.

"Do you finally realize just what you're up against, Darkrai?" the voice whispered from all around him. "You should know that this cave neutralizes you dark-type powers, and that I can kill you at a moments notice. Either you leave now, or I am going to kill you immediately."

"You will do no such thing," he whispered softly before a large pulse of darkness was shot from him.

Deoxys gave out a loud cry before another powerful wave of darkness slammed into its body. It would try to pull away, but was slammed into the wall several more times, and, after several more of the powerful attacks, couldn't move from the floor once more. Darkrai now stood over the Pokémon from space, and smirked lightly before slashing his throat with his claws.


	4. Freedom of a New Home

_/Disclaimer: Pokémon is still owned by Nintendo and the artists own their pictures. Only the story and characters are mine. I still hate disclaimers, but here we are._

Lonliness hummed an odd tune to herself as the moon reached its highest point in the night. She could feel as a cold breeze rustled through the night air and through her furry, yet still very bloody, body. She could feel as her body only became even more powerful than anything else that she had ever felt in her life. She may have been a god-like beast in this state, but it was much worth it to get rid of immortality and powerful for such a natural body.

As she hummed to herself, a familiar presence appeared, and she spun to face Darkrai as he floated closer to her, a wide smirk on his face. He then set down in front of her, and held out a purple meteorite. Lonliness smirked at the glowing shard. She then took the meteor, smirking as she could feel the power it held coursing through her body like a raging river.

"You finally found it," she whispered to Darkrai with a playful grin, white light consuming her body. "It is so great that you found this most important shard this very night. I am so grateful for you, Darkrai, and I am forever in your debt."

"It is a thing of the past now," Darkrai whispered as he had to cover his eyes from her glowing form. "I was hired to do this for you, and I have now done my bidding. I am now free of your restrictions, and I can now do a I please."

Lonliness nodded as the glow around her started to fade. Once it did, she was then revealed to be a completely normal Eevee, but her eyes were jet black with red irises. She smirked softly as she looked over her fluffy brown coat. To think that this was who she was under all that blood and scars!

"I am so grateful for this chance," Lonliness giggled as she silently stretched her new body. "And I guess you're now free of the contract, Darkrai. Please feel free to go back to haunting dreams or whatever it was you did before now."

Darkrai nodded before he turned around. He quickly stopped when he saw Glitchlett slowly digging close to him. The Pokémon seemed to suffering from something, but Darkrai was unsure of what it was. All he could really see was that Glitchlett was covered in bloody scars that he had never seen before. They had to have been recent, as Darkrai had never seen such deep scars in the god-like Pokémon.

"What the hell happened to you?" Lonliness asked once she had noticed the glitching Diglett. "You look like that story I read about that Magikarp. Did you escape some sort of bird that had wanted to kill you?"

"It wasn't anything like that," Glitchlett growled as he dug even closer to them. "Do you have my meteorite shard, Darkrai? I need it now. The glitches have finally found out where we're hiding, and they're going to come for me next."

Darkrai sighed and nodded as he handed the glitching Pokémon another one of the meteorites that he collected. The Pokémon was immediately consumed by a bright light. Once the light had faded, Glitchlett had turned into a Diglett, but his eyes were purely grey instead of the usual beady black. He sighed lightly and gently dug even closer to the feet of the dark-type.

"Thank you so much for your help, Darkrai," Glitchlett whispered lightly as he popped up and down excitedly. "I can finally get away from the curse I was born with. I am so grateful for what you have done for me today."

"As I said to Lonliness, it's really nothing," Darkrai told him before floating past them. "You are now free of your curses, and I am no longer needed here. If you ever want to talk to me, then you now where to find me."

Once he had finished what he had to say, he slowly floated away, and into the darkness where he felt most comfortable. Lonliness and Glitchlett were left alone with next to no idea what to do until the sun started to rise. With a sigh, Lonliness slowly turned to the sky to see that barely any time had passed, and that the moon was only just on its way down.

"I can't believe any of this is happening to us," Lonliness sighed before she turned to Glitchlett. "We're finally like all the others in this world. We can finally gain control of the world now that we're back to what we are."

Glitchlett sighed and nodded before he then started to dig under the ground and away from the Eevee. Lonliness sighed as she watched after him, but quickly looked away pouting. With a sigh, she slowly turned away and headed for Post Town. Might as well begin their tyrannical rule with her least favorite location.

Many miles away, nearly halfway across the world, the sun was just then starting to rise over the horizon. Shinko was the first to wake with the blaring sun on her back, but barely moved as she instead laid and looked around her. She saw that Aggron and Alakazam were both sleeping quite a distance away, but that Aaron was still cuddled up against her.

Shinko sighed lightly before squirming her way out of Aaron's grip, but then found herself next to a map that she had never seen before. She slowly stood, looking over it with a new-found curiosity for what it was doing here. As she looked over it, she quickly found a trail of a red line, and slowly looked around for any sign of where it could be, but there was nothing nearby that actually showed her. Not like there'd be a red line in the middle of nowhere. That'd be too cliché for something like a story.

She quickly shook her head before she folded the map away and put it in her fluffy scruff. It may not have looked the part, but her scruff was for much more than decoration. She had occasionally used it as a pillow, and she found that she could even use it to hide something if it was small enough.

Shinko sighed lightly as she heard a loud yawn coming from Aggron, and spun to face the powerful Pokémon. She knew that she had been the reason that he had woken up, but was unsure of whether or not he had seen her snatch up the map. Her worry quickly faded away as he let out another yawn and looked away from her and to the sun as it started to rise higher upon the horizon.

"The sunrise is beautiful this morning," Aggron pointed out as he looked over the horizon with a slight smile. "I am quite surprised to say that I am actually enjoying the warmth this morning. What about you, Shinko?"

"I-I also think it's quite the sight, Sir Aggron," Shinko chirped loudly at his thundering voice. "P-probably not as much as you, b-but I really do love how the colors mix and make it look like a beautiful painting."

Shinko could hear a small chuckle come from Aggron as she told him what she thought. Sure, she knew that she had gone well over what he had expected her to say, but that was all that she really knew how to explain it as. At least, that's how she felt that she would have needed to explain it. She quickly shook her head before she laughed loudly and looked away nervously.

"There's no reason for you to act so embarrassed around me, ya know," Aggron told her as he gently pat her with his powerful claw. "Most of us just get too into the zone at times. What you're doing is nothing new to me."

Shinko softly nodded before she looked over to Aaron, watching as he silently started to wake up. She smiled as she stood to help rouse him while Aggron went to go and rouse Alakazam. While rousing her friend, Shinko could feel as her body cramped up in hunger and thirst. She immediately knew why, and it was all because she didn't eat the previous night. She quickly padded away from Aaron, but quickly returned with an apple for both of them.

By the time Aaron was up and both of them had eaten, Alakazam had also been roused and the camp had been packed away. Without a single word to each other, both groups started on their way out, and soon continued on their path to wherever Aggron and Alakazam was leading them to. To tell the truth, even Alakazam had no idea what they were even doing. He was just playing along to keep them calm.

The group walked for several more hours before the first sign of life that wasn't grass or trees finally started to show. Shinko wasn't quite as excited as Aaron to actually see other signs of life, but she was quite happy to actually see that there were others near them. She actually felt a sign of safety and relaxed.

"Welcome to Luna Town," Aggron said as they finally entered the town limits. "This is the town where we hold our annual festivals, but it's also where you two are going to live until you've completely finished your training for us."

"Of course, sir!" Aaron chirped as he looked around the place excitedly. "This looks like it's great for agriculture. Do you think I could take farming up for a habit while we live here?"

"You probably could if you tried, but I doubt you'd grow much out here besides berries," Aggron sighed as his tail dragged in the dirt. "The ground's so dry here that barely anything grows a it is. Add that to a lack of much water supply, and you have terrible winters that can wreak havoc among this town!"

Shinko and Aaron looked up to Aggron with startled expressions. If that was true, then why did so many Pokémon live here then? Did they perhaps grow into hibernating so that they could survive without food during the winter? Or did they perhaps move around like nomads, and eventually come back when the spring and growing season had come once more? Neither of them had nay idea, but neither questioned it.

"And to think that you'll be living out here until your training's done," Alakazam sighed shaking his head. "This'll be one winter that you'll wish to never have lived. Food supply is short, and water supply is shorter. If you want to live, you better hope to get lucky out here."

"I don't think that'll be any problem for us, Sir Alakazam," Shinko said with a bold smile. "Even if these winters are as bad as you say, we can push through them and outlast anything that happens here. You can count on that!"

As she was talking, she failed to realize that the group had stopped, and ran right into Aggron's metal plating. She quickly pulled back and looked to where they were looking, but only saw farmland. Not that it was completely empty, but there was next to nothing but a few logs and tilled ground. She took these signs to be the start of a farm.

"This is where you'll live," Alakazam told them looking over the logs and farmland. "I know it isn't much, but it's also part of your training. For the next few months, or until winter hits, you will have to build this house and farm this ground. We have called in someone from Wigglytuff's Guild to keep and eye on you, but they'll be well out of your sight until they're needed."

Shinko nodded softly before she rushed away from the group and up to the timber that they had been given. A bunch of wood was neatly stacked and separated, and she knew exactly where each piece was to go if they were to build a house. She didn't quite know where the knowledge had come from, but she didn't question it as she was already planning out how the house would end up.

By the time that everyone else had caught up to her, Shinko had already moved aside what they would need, and anything extra that they could use for decorations or stuff. She could feel slight confusion boring into her fur from her companions, but paid no attention to it as she instead sat down and took in the fresh country air.

This place had everything that they could possibly need. Sure, they were going to have harsh winters, and growth wasn't very good here, but she could make it all work. She was quite sure that she had a plan for everything by now, but there was still one thing that she couldn't figure out. How exactly were they going to get all this wood set up and together without any help?

"Did you really think that we'd be letting you do any of this alone?" Alakazam asked as the wood started to float up. "With our help, we can get your house done in just under a week, but I think it's best we start this tomorrow. the sun's about to set, and I think it's best that we should wait until tomorrow for it all. to start coming together."

"I think that's a great idea as well," Aggron said as he looked at the wood when Alakazam set it down. "You two can rest under the stars for the night, and I'm quite sure that you'll enjoy it. I did at one point, but it lost it's spark to me many years ago."

Shinko and Arron shrugged to him as the silently padded away to at least get a lay of the land that they had been given. They were a bit more interested in that than in hearing more stories by their new mentors. Well, Shinko was quite tired of it, but Aaron didn't really want to argue with her. He did kind of feel that they were also a slight waste of time as well.

While they were wandering around, Shinko somehow lost Aaron, but never noticed as she kept padding around and looking at all the boundaries and fences that surrounded them. Somewhere along the way, she had even found this odd silver chain and what looked to be a tanzanite on it. It really did shine, and so she put it on slightly confused as to why somebody would leave it there.

Quickly shaking off the thoughts, she silently stuffed the crystal into her scruff before continuing to look around for anything to do. Before long, she eventually ended up back at the house where she then found that Aaron had already set up their nests and that the floor of the house had already been set up for them.

"Look who finally came back," Aaron sighed as he moved away from their nests and looked over to her like he was expecting something. "You were gone for a good hour, so we actually got the floor set once I had come back. What took you so long anyways? I thought you were just looking around the fields?"

"I think I might have actually ended up getting lost," Shinko lied as she padded over and licked his nose. "And you guys did a really good job here today. I can't wait to see the finished result of the entire house. I hope it goes as planned."

"I'm sure it will, Shinko," Aaron sighed as he pulled away from her. "We just have to wait and see just how it'll end up looking."

Nodding softly, Shinko looked over the floor of the house before heading over to her nest, which was right next to the berry fields. Aaron sighed lightly and padded over to his own nest, which was closer to the building. They both settled down into their nests before shutting their eyes to get some rest. Shinko was the first to let the darkness consume her, and was soon followed by Aaron.

At midnight that night, Shinko slowly started to wake to the blissful silence of the night. She slowly stood from her nest and looked around confused. She slowly shook out some grass that clung to her fur before getting out of her nest and walking around for a bit. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt that there was something that she needed to see a bit further out from their home.

After a few more minutes, Shinko finally sat down and gazed to the stars above them. Hundreds of thousands of stars glittered and twinkled above her like a beautiful light display. As she sat, she realized that several streaks were now shining across the sky making the night sky shine even brighter than before. It was something that she had never seen before, and it was gorgeous!

"They twinkle like a dream," she whispered before closing her eyes and letting out a soft sigh. "I just wish that I could grow to be the best that I ever could be alongside Aaron."

When she opened her eyes, she opened them to see a gorgeous meteor as it streaked across the sky in a bright light. She felt as a sudden pulse of joy rushed through her system. She gave out a soft sigh as she laid right there and let herself fall asleep. She generally preferred to be under a roof, but she had the stars and moon to be her roof this very night, and she felt it would be that way for quite a long while.

Back in Post Town, Lonliness sat upon Whishcash's back with a proud smiled. Her chest was puffed in pride as she looked at all the Pokémon who had tried to challenge her. Most of them had been challenging explorers, but she had quickly eliminated them along with every other Pokémon who had faced against her.

She smirked softly as she stood from Whishcash's back, and stepped forward to face the crowd that she had defeated. Silently, she started to hum a dark and foreboding tune, shadows slowly crawling from the ground and closer to the Pokémon. She continued the tune until each of them were covered and consumed in the shadows that she had summoned. Her plan for world domination was now in full swing, and she was so glad that it was all coming down to this.

"All of my slaves and puppets!" she cried out to the infected crowd. "It is time for us to begin our reign upon the world! We will start with out very own continent before we start to spread into the much greater world! Let us now diverse and consume the region in darkness!"

A loud cry came from the crowd of Pokémon as they all took off. Lonliness smiled as she silently padded through the silent and forever dark town. She grinned as she watched as it all became hers. The entirety of Post Town was hers, and the world would soon be a part of that. When that day would come, she never knew, but she wanted it to be soon. She was tired of waiting.

Lonliness could feel something else growing just beneath her paws, and knew that she was no longer alone. Her dark powers had awoken another entity that had been sleeping for thousands of years. She knew that this power would be helping her, but there was something even darker within it than the power that she held within her own paws.

"I can't believe that my own dreams are coming true after so long," she whispered softly as she then looked up to the sky. "I can't wait to watch the world burn under my own tyrannical paw. It's a dream come true for me, and it's all mine!"


	5. Dreaming of Infection and Safety

_/Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the pics. Just the characters and story. Bye._

It's been nearly three months since Shinko and Aaron took on training and moved locations to their new house. Within the first week, they had completely finished their house, but took another week to paint and decorate it. After that, they completely focused on training both outside and inside dungeons, and found that they were very quick growers. Aaron, who already had a knack for battling and getting into a battle zone, was especially quick to grow. Shinko was just a bit slower, but she was soon able to get just below his level of expertise.

On this day, Shinko and Aaron were both in the berry fields, where they were attending to the berries that they had decide to grow. Winter was fast approaching by this time, but neither of them cared as they were both more than prepared. It was really all thanks to Alakazam and Aggron that the two only had enough food to make it through the fall. Not that it was very hard, but Aaron would often destroy crops and berries with his rock-hard body.

"So, what do you think of the winter coming?" Shinko asked watering the plants with a specially designed pail. "I know it's gonna be rough and all, but at least we'll have enough food to survive. Then, we can start up the farm again in the spring, and do even better than we did this year."

"Well, we only just started here in the fall," Aaron replied as he picked berries that were ripening and putting them in baskets. "If anything does run out, then I'm sure we'll do just fine if we just wing it or something."

Shinko nodded to him and hummed before she pulled away and grabbed one of the full baskets. She silently carried it to the house before setting it just inside the door. The inside reminded her of the old house that they had lived in, and it even had the same setup, but it was much larger and the beds were separated for some reason. She was never sure why, but it was probably for privacy reasons or something.

Quickly shaking off her thoughts, Shinko bolted back to find that Aaron had already picked the berries and filled the baskets to the brim. Quickly shaking her head at how quick he had been, she picked up two of the baskets and headed back while Aaron somehow carried the other three. In all, that was nearly ten baskets of berries for them to live off of this winter. Considering how each one held about twenty berries and that they never spoiled, they'd last quite a while for them both.

"I can't believe just how lucky we got with all of this stuff," Aaron groaned as they set the baskets down next to each other. "This might just be the most berries I've ever seen in our house. Actually, I think that this might be the first time we've actually had food inside here that we weren't eating immediately."

"I'd say I agreed with you, but I don't really know what to think about any of it," Shinko admitted as she backed away from the berries they had collected. "I think this might be the most amount of food I've ever seen in my life."

Aaron laughed at her and shrugged before he padded over to his nest, which was lined with rocks so that he didn't shred the nest in his sleep. Shinko rolled her eyes and padded over to her own, which was a normal nest lined with this odd silk that Alakazam had found one day. Now that she actually thought about it, neither of them had seen Aggron or Alakazam for the past month or so.

"Don't you find it odd that Alakazam and Aggron haven't come by to visit us recently?" Shinko asked after a bit of an award silence. "I mean, they could be busy and all, but they said that they'd stop by at least once a week. They haven't been here for a complete month!"

"I know what you're thinking, Shinko, but you should know that they might be a bit too busy for us," Aaron sighed from his nest behind the small wall. "Aggron's a guild leader while Alakazam's his second-in-command. They probably got caught up in something important or dangerous."

"I guess so," Shinko sighed as she eventually settled down in her nest. "I just hope that we get to hear from them soon. I'm getting quite worried now, but I'll trust what you have to say. I guess everything's just been changing so much. Especially since we've been away from your old home for quite a while now. Actually, what happened to that place?"

"Well, when my brother found out that we had been moved here all that time ago, he found another who wanted it, and sold it to them," Aaron explained shifting around in his nest. "Of course, it's still open of we wish to go back but it's in the possession of another person until the day that we go back."

"That makes sense," Shinko yawned as she curled into a rather tight and small ball. "Well, I'll see you when the moon rises tonight. I can't wait to see the meteor shower due to happen tonight."

She waited for the response, but found that she got none as Aaron was already snoring away like the canine he was. She sighed to herself and started to hum silently as she tried to get to sleep herself. It was nearly half an hour before she felt as the world of darkness finally consumed her, and she fell into an endless void of sleep.

Within moments of falling asleep, she quickly opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of a barren town. She quickly recognized it as Post Town, but there was something so wrong about it. The skies were a dark grey, the town was practically destroyed and empty, and the usual joyful feeling she got from it was completely gone. It was as though something had happened here that had scared everyone off.

"What's going on here?" she whispered lightly as she started to walk forward in her dream version of Post Town. "What happened to this place?"

As she was wandering around, the footsteps of nearby Pokémon reached her ears, and she quickly jumped and hid in some bushes that still stood. She was quite surprised that they made no sound, and looked just outside the bushes to see an Eevee, Tyranitar, Blastoise, and Shiftry walking through the town. She saw that they were all surrounded in this weird shadow energy, but the Eevee, who wasn't completely consumed, seemed to be the one controlling them all.

"So, you think that she'll be dreaming of what's going on tonight?" Blastoise asked the Eevee with a slight scoff. "I can't believe you'd suggest such a thing, Master. It's impossible to dream real life events unless you were a god-like being."

"I understand what you're saying, Blastoise, but you must remember that nothing in this world is normal anymore," the Eevee responded as she stopped and looked around. "I can sense her nearby. Make sure that you check every single crack that you can. She can't make it to Lost Templar Village before we find her."

Shinko flinched back slightly as the Tyranitar passed right by her. She knew that something was wrong when that shadow seemed to try and grab at her, but quickly shook it off and tried to focus on something. She could only feel as fear coursed through her system, but knew that she'd need to be brave if she were to wake and escape from them. Actually, she felt that she had to stay more to learn about this Lost Templar Village place. It sounded rather important if this "Master" was so scared of it.

"What do you think about this village, Lonliness?" Shiftry asked after several minutes of silence. "I mean, you've been talking about it a lot recently, but you've never quite told us what's so dangerous about it."

"It holds something that has long been lost with time," Lonliness explained with a growl. "An ancient artifact that can expel darkness or light at the wielder's command. We can't let anyone get that artifact who is pure of heart. It would kill us all."

"Then why don't you go and get the artifact yourself so that you can rule the world with your shadows?" Tyranitar asked as he came back to her. "It'd be much more simple than just spreading the shadows by staying where they're strongest."

"I am afraid that I can't posses the artifact in this form," Lonliness sighed as she looked over her team. "Unlike my true form, I am limited by my own mortality to actually posses the artifact. I am a being of darkness, and only a half-blood can open the door to the temple."

Shinko went to peak her head out to hear what else she had to say, but her world was once again obscured by black before she woke in her nest. She woke to find that she had scrambled bits of her nest everywhere, but that wasn't what worried her. What did worry her was just how dark it was outside. The light that should have been coming from the moon and stars seemed to be obscure by something much darker than just a cloud.

Silently, she pushed herself out of her nest, and padded over to the door. She looked back to see that Aaron was still asleep, and gently pushed the door open. She felt as a cold gust hit her fur, but didn't seem to notice as all she saw was a darkened world around her. All of the crops were dead, no Pokémon were walking around, and everything was just covered in shadows and darkness.

"What the hell?" she whispered in fear and terror at the sight. "Luna Town has been consumed by that darkness. I have to get to Lost Templar Village. It's the only way that we can save this world any longer."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aaron yawned from behind her. "What do you mean by Luna Town's been covered in darkness? What's Lost Templar Village? What are you even talking about?"

"See for yourself," Shinko whispered as she moved out of the way for him to see what she meant.

Shinko could feel as shock and surprise coursed through her body, but said nothing more as she let him get a look for himself. She knew just what the darkness meant, but she just couldn't tell Aaron. He was so sweet and soft and caring, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell him just what the darkness was all about. That dream that she had haunted her, but what could she do about it?

"You said Lost Templar Village, right?" Aaron muttered only just loud enough for her to hear. "Let's look over our map to see if we can find this place that you speak of. If it has enough significance that you can remember its name somehow, then it must hold something that can clean away this shadow that hangs over us."

'Even more than you think,' she whispered mentally as they shut the door and padded over to a map that she ha stolen all those months ago.

She sighed as she looked over it for anything that looked like a village, but found nothing as she scanned it quickly. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even now what a village would look like on this map. She knew that she'd be useless in this, but that was until she noticed an odd door-like structure in the corner of the map. She was sure that Aaron hadn't noticed it, and so she read it mentally.

'The village lost with time will open only to the being of a silver soul and a golden heart,' she whispered to herself mentally. 'Deep within the jungle of time and space will the doorway to light and darkness be found, but two must be there to enter. Keep a pure heart and trudge on through the endless powers.'

After she finished reading, she looked back over the map until she found a jungle. There was only one in the entire map that seemed to be separated from any other, and it was known as Lost Jungle. She only knew this because Alakazam had been teaching her about different biomes and dungeons, but that was the only place that still resonated within her.

"We have to go to the Lost Jungle," she whispered as she slowly backed away and shivered softly. "That's where the temple must be. I mean, it wouldn't be surprising if it isn't, but I have a belief that it is."

"If you have a belief, then I'll believe it with you," Aaron mumbled before nodding boldly and shaking his fur. "Let's get ready to set out then. This will be our first true mission that didn't come from Alakazam or Aggron. I feel so proud of you."

Shinko rolled her eyes at him as she padded over to her nest. Lifting it, she swiped the necklace that she had found and a treasure bag that they had been given when they had finally "graduated" Aggron's training program. She sighed as she quickly put the necklace on, which was soon followed by the bag being flung around and over her side. Sure, it was a bit uncomfortable, but it allowed her the freest movement while battling.

Once they were sure that they had gotten everything they needed, which usually consisted of extra food for longer journeys, they headed outside and to find this lost temple that would hold whatever it was that they needed to save their world. Not that they knew if it was there or not, but that was the hope that they would have until they found it wasn't.

For hours, they walked and walked from town to town trying to find the shortest and safest path that they could take. Shinko knew that they'd have to be incredibly wary of any Shadow Pokémon, but she was more worried about Aaron seeing them. She knew he'd see them sooner or later, but it would be best to keep him in the dark until they were forced into battle with a group.

It was several more hours before they finally reached the forest that they had been searching for, but both of them were exhausted and starving after such a long trek and from having to take so many detours to avoid villages and the infected. They had a few close calls, but Shinko had noticed them just before Aaron, and had actually been able to get him away and out of sight of the monsters that only she knew about.

"I can't actually believe how far we walked today," Aaron sighed as they sat and ate an apple each. "My paws feel like they're about to fall off, but the adrenaline that's rushing through my system made me feel I could go another two or three hours. I'm just glad we stopped before I said anything of the sort."

Shinko only nodded lightly before she bit into her apple for the first time. There was so much that was on her mind, but she just couldn't think straight with how tired and distracted she was. It wasn't like there was anything keeping her from calming down, but there was just too much for her to think about at the moment.

"Aaron?" she asked with a light sigh. "Do you remember when we woke up and you found me staring outside the door? I never told you exactly what woke me up, did I?"

"Umm... I don't think you did," Aaron said as he looked up to the sky thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's because I haven't been completely honest with you the entire time we've been walking," Shinko began before she looked to the ground. "You see, when we fell asleep, I woke up in Post Town to find that it was all in complete disaster. This odd... shadow... had consumed the Pokémon there, and they were being led around by an Eevee named Lonliness. The Pokémon that we've been avoiding before are just like them. I call them infected, but they're more like shadows than anything else. And in that dream, I heard of the place that we are headed, and I have reason to believe that we aren't the only ones trying to get in. I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark for so long, Aaron."

"Well, there's actually nothing for you to be sorry about," Aaron told her as he settled down and shivered softly. "I actually saw them when we were trying to avoid them, but never asked because I could feel the fear coming from you. And there's no need to tell me about your dreams at all. Even if you told me that you were just making it up as you went, I'd still love you."

Shinko looked to him shocked and confused before smiling softly. She went to say something, but instantly stopped as he pushed his maw against her own His soft lips were now against her own, and their noses just barley touching as he kissed her with love and zest. She knew immediately that she wanted it to last forever, but he soon pulled back with a slight smile. Both of their hearts were pulsing wildly and without any kind of rhythm to them.

"I love you, Shinko, and I just want to establish that trust between us," Aaron whispered to her with a slight blush. "And it all begins with that kiss. I promise that I'll keep you safe for as long as I can, my love."

"Aaron," Shinko whispered as she padded close and nuzzled him. "Even as the sun falls and the darkness rises, you find a way to lift me up. Thank you so much, Aaron. I know that I can never thank you enough for this, but this is what I have to give. Thank you, and I wish we can be together until our dying breath."

"Me too," Aaron whispered before letting out a loud yawn. "I think we should settle down for the night. We're both entirely exhausted by what we did all day, and I feel that it's only correct we get our well-deserved rest."

Shinko nodded softly before they both settled down and nuzzled into each other. They silently moved closer before they embraced and fell asleep together. Even in this world of darkness and fear, they felt that they'd still see bright colors until the end. They knew that they'd be the ones to bring back the light. It was only a matter of when.

"Are you sure that they are headed to the temple, Lonliness?" an odd shadow whispered from alongside the powerful Eevee. "Not that I don't believe you, but it just seems odd that they'd know so soon after anything."

"Do not doubt me, Darkrai," Lonliness growled as she padded forward. "You must know that nothing here will ever be normal, and that everything we say or do will be heard or seen by one of the resistance members. We have to stop these two before the resistance has a chance to get to them!"

"I understand that, but why now?" Darkrai hissed lightly as he came out of the shadow. "Why not just send in one of our spies and keep an eye on them instead? Then, we can strike when they're at their most vulnerable!"

"Don't try to talk me out of this," Lonliness whispered. "I have made my decision, and that's all I'll ever need in this world."

Silently, they continued to pad forward until they reached a forest, where Lonliness then faded into the shadows while Darkrai went back to go get the rest of the invading army. They knew they wouldn't need them, but it would be the best choice, as neither of them knew just how powerful their enemies were now.


	6. Captured in the Ruins

_/We have officially started part number two of this story that I have been writing. If you have officially reached this chapter, then thank you for sticking with this story from the very beginning to right about now. I think things should be kicking off, but I'm not quite sure if you know. You'll just have to find out as you read. Well, see y'all later, my friends. Oh, and since I'm writing this in December, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanza, and anything else I missed. I'm not a walking Encyclopedia or anything, so let's get started. Also, I do not own Pokémon or the pics. Just the character and story._

It was early the next morning when Shinko and Aaron woke. The sun, although only just starting to rise, was shining brightly through the leaves and branches of the trees that covered and surrounded them. Both had slept fairly soundly last night, but both had also found that they were also a bit uncomfortable throughout the night. The ground was a bit colder and rougher than they were actually used to. Even Aggron and Alakazam had been unable to prepare them for such rough and cold forest ground.

Shaking softly, Shinko was the first to stand and get leaves and grass out of her fur, and was soon poking Aaron until he too had gotten up and shaken out his fur. They both kissed once more before Shinko collected her bag, and they headed further in for the sign of the temple that they had been looking for since when they had woken up yesterday.

"I wonder just how far away we are from this Lost Templar Village," Shinko mumbled to herself as the underbrush they were pushing through got even thicker. "It didn't seem to be _that_ far compared to what we saw on the map, but I guess that's probably just me. Don't you think so, Aaron?"

"I don't really know what to think, but I do know that wherever we're headed to must be much more protected than we truly think it is," Aaron sighed to himself before shaking slightly. "I can't help but feel like we're being watched, but I get the sense that whatever I feel isn't real at the same time. It's as though something is trying to follow us, but it can't keep track of where we are."

"I understand what you say, but something else is quite odd about all of this," Shinko whispered to him before launching a Shadow Ball and tearing down a tree. "We aren't in any kind of mystery dungeon, but I do get the feeling that whatever is following us is no natural Pokémon."

Aaron nodded to her as they continued forward through the thickening underbrush. It kind of reminded them of something, but neither could bring up the memory. They continued to walk for what could have only been an hour before that feeling grew even stronger. That feeling of being watched was right on their necks, and yet they still pushed on and ignored it.

Shinko sighed as she felt the ground starting to dip, and noticed as they were starting to go under the ground. She tried to look around to see if there was any marker that they were going the wrong way, but the soft sound of a waterfall reached her ears, and she was instantly distracted. Aaron had also heard the sound, but it was a bit less effective as his fear of water made him hesitate, but he still followed after her.

As the two further walked, the sound of the waterfall only got louder, and any signs of light also started to fade from behind them. They could barely tell where to put their paws in order to walk, but they could also tell that they were headed the right way. Neither of them had run into a wall yet, and they could also tell that the sound was getting louder.

For a short while, both of them walked and walked until the dirt and grass turned to stone and rock. It was an odd transition at first, but they both just barely got used to it before an odd feeling washed over them. Shinko immediately recognized it as they entered a mystery dungeon, the sound of the waterfall fading away and into nothing before the roof lit up above them.

"It's time to get our battle on," Shinko growled as they started their long trek through the mystery dungeon's unending maze of rooms. "Remember to stay close and don't get lost. If you do, use your badge to get out of here as quick as you can."

"You don't need to remind me of what Aggron told us," Aaron said rolling his eyes at her. "In case _you_ forgot, I was there with you when we were learning how to explore these kinds of dungeons. Let's just hurry and get out of here."

Shinko nodded softly as they then started forward. neither of them had heard of this dungeon before, so they decided to call it Waterfall Cavern. It was quite fitting as they had found it while following the sound of a waterfall. Then again, they could both feel as a spray of water assaulted them, but just enough to be a mere annoyance more than anything else.

After some time, they could feel as the air got slightly heavier signaling that they had made it to the next floor. Shinko could mainly tell, but there was just something so odd about it all. So far, neither of them had come across any Pokémon, and they hadn't even found any kind of item along their way.

"Don't you find it odd just how empty this place is?" Shinko asked Aaron as though he would have the answer. "It's almost like someone came here before us and cleaned the entire dungeon out."

"I wouldn't doubt it, but I'm sure that nobody would have known this dungeon was here without having come here once before," Aaron answered as he shook water from his pelt. "Either that, or they must have followed us and come across this dungeon before us. I wouldn't believe it, but I don't doubt it either."

Shinko nodded as she felt the air shift several times while they had been talking. It was almost like they had passed by several floors when they hadn't actually been looking. Then again, that commonly did happen in some mystery dungeons, but never did she expect it be true to them. She was a bit energetic at times, so time would seem to slow down for her, but it was normally rather natural if she wasn't full of food or energy.

She sighed softly as the feeling of the air eventually did fade away, but they then found themselves at the outside of a large door. it looked like it could have been pushed open, but they knew that it wouldn't be as simple as that. It was all because they knew that this place had to have been sacred if guarded by a mystery dungeon. Then again, nothing in this world was as simple as it seemed.

Aaron sighed softly as he stepped closer and looked at the door. After a bit of searching, he found this weird stone that was wedged into the rock. Odd footprints lined the stone, and he smiled. Silently, he motioned for Shinko to come over, and started to read what it said so she could hear.

"Now the stars have realigned, a hero of life will come and shine. Across the land her wings will spread, until the devil's rise begins. Now of mortal form and life, her silver soul will shine with gold. A partner brave and strong and bold, will keep her safe until this day. Open now and reveal the truth. Mother Mew has come for you."

As soon as he stopped speaking, the door in front of them burst into a powerful and divine light. It shined bright before they were forced back by just how bright it was. Both of them were forced to cover their eyes and dig their paws into the ground, and soon found themselves being slightly blown back as a powerful gust came from the doors as they opened. Shinko couldn't tell why, but it just felt like her soul was being torn from her body, and opened her eyes to see a golden line between her and the door. It instantly shattered, and they were both able to open their eyes full and looked into what the doors had been hiding.

"This... is amazing."

They both stepped forward and looked into a large cavern. As they stepped forward, the stone beneath their paws became even smoother, and the sound of rushing water came from all sides of them. Shinko gasped lightly as she then caught sign of the large stone in the center of it all. Compared to the rest of the cave, it actually looked quite small, but it was _huge_ compared to them. Probably several hundred feet by a random guess.

"I can't believe that this is just hidden right behind a door," Shinko whispered softly as she walked forward and looked at the large stone. "It kind of reminds me of something, but I'm not quite sure what it is that it reminds me of. Probably a dream or something, but I can't be sure quite yet."

"And indeed it is," a voice whispered from behind them as the door shut leaving them with only the light that came from the roof to let them see. "You two have fallen right for my trap, and it is time that we all give you what you deserve."

Shinko and Aaron spun to see an Eevee, Darkrai, Blastoise, Tyranitar, Charizard, Shiftry, and several other Pokémon facing them from the door way that they now blocked. Shinko could see the odd shadow energy that she had seen from last night, but it just seemed to be much more powerful in this place than in her dreams.

"I must congratulate you for making it this far, Shinko and Aaron, but I'm afraid this is where the road ends for the two of you," Darkrai said as he floated closer to them. "When we capture you and the ancient artifact that you led us to, the world will become encased in our never ending darkness. Everything will be perfect and as we wish for it!"

"That's a bit sick, but I see where you're going," Lonliness sighed as she pushed past him and close to the duo. "So, you're Shinko and Aaron. I must say that it's quite interesting to finally meet you, but now its not the time for formal introductions. Take care of them Darkrai. I believe it's time we take what's rightfully ours."

With a single movement, a dark wave of energy shot past her and into the duo. The attack sent them flying into the stone, and neither were feeling so well after the attack. Aaron and Shinko were both standing rather quickly but they felt like the attack had broken a few bones. Shinko could feel as adrenaline pumped through her system, but it wouldn't last forever.

"To have survived that would take much guts," Darkrai said as he moved even closer to them. "I'm quite surprised as the first time I saw you was when you were just simple pups. Great to see that you're much stronger, but it won't help you now."

With a smirk, a dark sphere formed in his hand, but Shinko and Aaron wouldn't let themselves go down so easily. They both quickly moved to the side as he shot the attack directly at them. Shinko smirked as she launched a Shadow Ball while Aaron launched Rock Tomb. Both attacks hit, but neither seemed to do much as he quickly shook them off.

"Weak," he whispered before another attack was launched from behind him.

Once again, Shinko and Arron were caught of guard and thrown away as the Blastoise has launched a powerful Hydro Pump at them. Shinko stood and threw up a bit of the water, but Aaron was now out cold as he had been hit full-force by the supper-effective attack. Shinko knew that it would be hopeless now, but she didn't let herself be taken down by that. Instead, she quickly used Dig and went under the ground to at least hide for a second.

Catching her breath from beneath the ground, Shinko could feel as the unusually heavy steps of the Pokémon from above tried to scare her out of the ground. The adrenaline flowing through her system kept her from screaming out and begging for mercy, but there was just something so odd about what was to happen. She got the feeling that what was going to happen was meant. That little voice that she had heard many times before was telling her so.

"You now you have to go up there eventually," the voice whispered to her. "They already got Aaron down, and they'll just wait you out until you starve and have to surrender. It's best you do it now than later, Shinko."

"I don't want to give in to the shadows," she whispered back barely keeping tears from spilling out and to the floor. "I just wanted to come and expel the darkness. I didn't come here to fight for it."

"Shinko... You know what has to be done to save us all. You just have to wait for the opportunity to strike back. I promise I won't let them do their experiments and consume you, but you have to trust me. Do you?"

Shinko eventually nodded and slowly pushed herself to her paws. Trying not to let it show, she wiped away her tears before unleashing her Dig and exposing herself to the enemy, but let herself relax. She knew that if she seemed tense, then they'd kill her on the spot for trying to lie.

"I surrender," she told them as she saw them each charge up an attack. "I concede defeat and have given up to you. I know it's weird and all that I didn't put up as much resistance as you expected, but it looks like we can now see why."

"I see nothing wrong with this," Lonliness whispered as she stepped closer to her and raised her chin with a smirk. "The prophet destined to slay me has lost all hope in even getting close. So sad to say that I'll enjoy what I'm going to be doing to you when we get back to base."

Without another word, Shinko felt as something slammed into her head and knocked her to the ground. Her vision instantly blurred as she laid there barely holding on. The world spun several more times before she finally let the darkness consume her consciousness and take her away from all of this.

Once she was knocked unconscious, Lonliness let out a sigh and stepped back from the opposing Eevee's body. She looked to the large rock where the artifact they had come for was hidden, but made no notion to even head for it. With a sigh, she quickly shook her head before padding over to Aaron before taking his rocky collar in her maw, and dragged his body all the way to Shinko.

"Get them to the cages," she ordered them with a slight growl. "I will return to base in a bit, and I expect to see them where they belong. Make sure Shinko gets her you-now-what while Aaron gets his rest. We will infect them at midnight tomorrow. That gives them a full day to get comfortable."

The Pokémon that she had led all nodded to her orders before they were consumed by the shadows, and disappeared with Shinko and Aaron. This left Lonliness alone and without anyone nearby to hear what she had to say about anything. If anybody as nearby, then they'd probably think she was crazy for doing so.

"Everything is falling into place much too perfectly," she whispered to herself, a slight growl hidden within it. "I would have expected much more resistance, but it's like something's interfering with what I know is right. I have to keep an eye on them. They can't be allowed to escape my grip like the last test subjects."

She sighed and started to pad around until that familiar sound of a waterfall reached her ears. She growled at the sound as she then phased through the doors and looked to the message that hung on the wall. She read of it several times, occasionally nodding to herself, but having no idea of the true meaning. It was like the Ruins of Alph from when she was alive, but so much harder to understand.

"It's during times like these that you can finally reflect on just how much of an idiot you've been for the past couple of years," she told herself before shaking her head once more. "Then again, what do we actually learn from all of this? Is it true that we're nothing more than little puppets who can be controlled to do whatever we're commanded?"

Lonliness sighed as she continued to read the stone over and over and over. She had no idea who the true prophet of this prophecy was, but she was quite sure that whoever it had been was long dead by now. She wasn't completely sure, but she was confident in it to the point where she was unafraid of the prophecy even being true any longer. That was just her thoughts, however, as the prophecy could still be well and alive, or even yet to come.

"You never know with these things," she whispered to herself.

With a sigh, she then faded into the shadows leaving the temple to be found once more, but with no help from the resistance's most valued Pokémon. She really had no idea why it was Shinko of all the Pokémon in the world, but they must have seen something special in her if she was to be chosen as inspiration. Probably because of a false prophecy, but what did she know? She had never faced them head-to-head, but more or less slave-to-resistance.

Within moments of disappearing, she reformed in a large city thousands of miles away. Around her, towering skyscrapers surrounded her on all sides while several dozen Pokémon walked around her. They too were surrounded by this dark energy that she had made when she had come to this world and became mortal.

She smirked softly as she slowly started to head down the dark street to a large building that stood in the middle of the town. It towered above any of the other buildings, but that was the best part of it. Since she could watch over the entirety of where she ruled from, she could tell when anything was to go wrong, and where it was happening as well.

On her way through the town, she noticed several child Pokémon not surrounded by her shadow energy, but didn't dare to consume them in her shadows. They were just children, and they would eventually molded into the perfect servants that she would want them to be. She quickly shook off this thought, however, and continued her walk to the tower.

After some time, she finally reached the tower, and immediately headed inside. She didn't care to look around, but much rather used her shadow walking to disappear and reform at the top where she was greeted by a familiar face.

"It's been a really long time, Glitchlett," Lonliness whispered softly as she saw the white-eyed Diglett looking out the window. "What made you come back to me this time? I know it can't be because you're scared of it again."

"Of course it's been a long time, but what you say is as far off as it can be," Glitchlett sighed as he spun and looked back to her. "The resistance has found the keystone to finding the final shard. I have worries that they're already headed to find it and piece Heaven's Gate back together. If they get it, it's all over."

"If you really think that, then you must have not been keeping up with the news," Lonliness laughed as she padded past him and to the window. "We already captured the dungeon where the crystal had been hidden, and they'll never be able to capture it. After all, since when have the resistance won a battle against us?"

"They have won many more than you would think," Glitchlett told her as he also moved back to the window. "They defeated your raid on Silent Town last week, and obliterated your entire retrieval squad just the day after. They're getting stronger and stronger every day that we let them!"

"I am not worried," Lonliness told him. "We have the final key to our puzzle, and it is time we finally crush the resistance once and for all. For now, we shall retire for the night. We shall continue this in the morning, Glitchlett."

Without another word, Glitchlett faded away into the darkness much like she did, and was soon gone overall. Within moments, Lonliness had let out a sigh as she laid down and closed her eyes. She smirked softly before she finally let the void of sleep take away her consciousness.


	7. Escape Requires Sacrifice

_/Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the pictures. I just own the characters and story. Well, all the characters but Leo the Midnight Lycanroc. He belongs to_ _Yoshi went and_ __

Shinko whimpered softly as she was dragged by her ear and thrown into a large metal cage. She grit her teeth as she slammed into the bars of her cage, but didn't show any signs of pain as she hurriedly stood once more. She went to ram the bars for an attempt to escape, but saw it as hopeless as a rather large Hariyama stood at the door to the room that she, along with Aaron and several other Pokémon, were now trapped in.

Shinko was the only one currently awake, but she knew she wasn't the only one who had recently come here to become one of the shadows. She didn't know hos he had heard it, but she did hear that they were to become subjects of Lonliness. She would shiver just at the thought, but didn't let that control her as she stood against the bars boldly.

"If you really think you can keep me caged in this filthy place, then you're fucking insane!" she screamed at the Hariyama. "We will find a way out of here, and we will defeat all of you before you even see what's coming for you!"

The Hariyama simply turned to her and laughed in a deep and booming voice. He seemed to be mocking her, but she didn't care as she just wanted to try and get out to attack him. Sure, he could most likely overpower her, but she knew that enough attempts would eventually get her out of there and into the face of another Pokémon she could just break away from.

With a sigh, she then sat down and tried to think of a way that she could escape, but nothing that would actually keep her alive came to her. She had a few ideas right off the bat, but they were about as bad as bad ideas get. She knew that her reason to fight was hopeless, but she wasn't ready to give in to her fear just yet.

"Do you really think that we'll be able to escape?" a voice whispered quite a distance away from her. "I've been here since the beginning of the war, and you can look at me and tell that they won't ever let us out. Most of us will be taken to become like those, but then there are those who won't and will just be killed."

Shinko sighed before she turned to the voice and saw an Absol locked in a cage. Her body was covered in scars and bloody bruises, but she still seemed to be strong. Shinko wanted to reassure her, but what she said had to have been true. She did look to have been through a lot and have had some experience with what they did. What did Shinko have that could reassure her that they would be able to get out safe and without getting caught again?

With a sigh, Shinko finally found the right words and said, "I'm not like those of you who already gave up. I'm not weak like that. I don't care if I go to hell for what I am going to do anymore. I'm going to fight until the end of time and space if I have to, and nothing can or ever will be able to stop me. You should open your eyes and see the same thing."

Shinko, without waiting for a response, made her decision and launched a powerful Shadow Ball at the cage door. This was immediately followed by an explosion, and she was thrown back by several feet before skidding to a halt. Her body was covered in scratches from her own attack, but she showed no pain as she stood boldly and with pride at the fact that she had been able to escape with a single attack.

Of course, just like any self-damaging attack, she could just barely feel anything other than the pain that coursed through her system. She quickly had to shake this off, however, as heavy footsteps moved closer telling her that Hariyama had taken notice and was headed for her. Shinko used this to her advantage as she launched several more of her favorite attacks at the cages that held the Pokémon who had been captured. However, from the outside, her attack did nothing but kick up a powerful cloud of smoke and ashes. Heck, none of the Pokémon had even waken up.

"Do you see why it's pointless now?" Absol asked from his cage, watching as Hariyama closed in on her. "You can't free anyone unless you know how the cage works. Even then, the cages are still impossible to open. It's best you just quit fighting now, and just let this all go where it's supposed to."

Shinko hurriedly shook her head and threw another Shadow Ball, but it was easily slammed aside by Hariyama's powerful hands. A loud explosion soon followed, and Shinko fell back slightly as the powerful wind that came from the attack pushed against her. She noticed that Hariyama had been slightly fazed by her attack. It wasn't much, but it was there.

Shinko than had an idea as she hurriedly launched the rest of the energy she had for the attack directly at Hariyama. Even though he was much more powerful than her, the massive amount of attacks that she let off had caught him slightly off balance. Shinko then used this chance to rush up, jumping and slamming her forehead into his bulky chest with a powerful Tackle attack.

Hariyama, although knocked back quite a bit, countered her by throwing one of the empty cages, which then slammed her into a wall. Shinko screamed loudly as she felt something in her back-left snap, but kept standing as she hit the ground with a loud thud. She knew was pushing herself way beyond her true limits, but she was more than prepared to die for her beliefs.

She only looked up for a split second before shutting her eyes and waiting for Hariyama to crush her pathetic body. However, the pain never came, and she opened her eyes to see a powerful claw that tore straight though Hariyama and to the other side of its body. She hurriedly backed away and watched as the figure behind it removed its claw, and saw as the Hariyama fell forward and away from a Midnight Lycanroc that stood boldly and with a dark gaze.

"Good job, kid, but this isn't the end of the road just yet," he growled lightly as he then backed away and started to tear open the cages that held the Pokémon trapped within. "We still have much, much further to go before we're home free."

Shinko nodded and watched before she felt as she was hurriedly pounced from behind. She hurriedly turned her head and looked into the bright brown of Aaron's own, and quickly kissed him. No words were shared between them as only pure joy and happiness flooded their minds and hearts. Sure, it made an odd scene, but they were just happy to be together.

"I think we should hurry up and run," Shinko whispered to him softly as she gently nuzzled his cheek, trying to hide the pain of her recently broken leg. "That Lycanroc seems to be trying to help, but we have to do our part as well. Let's hurry and get out of here before anyone notices."

Aaron nodded and looked around before he found an air duct and rushed over. A rock formed right in front of him and he threw it, destroying the grate and giving them an opportunity to escape. Shinko also added to it and launched a Shadow Ball and destroyed quite a bit more of the vent. They both looked back to the group, and noticed that they had caught quite a bit of attention before they bolted, squirming into the vents and away from the Pokémon.

Shinko could hear as one tried to crawl in after, but turned to see that it was much too large to fit in, and so they quickly bolted through the vents which were just barely able to contain them. Aaron was just barely ahead of her, but he was still struggling a bit more due to his larger body. It wasn't like they were struggling too much at first, but the vents started to thin out, and they were barely able to move forward without causing some noise.

It was some time later, when both were sure that they were clear, that they finally found another vent, and destroyed it before falling out and into another room. This one wasn't full of cages, but had hundreds, if not thousands, of screens filled with details about Pokémon. Shinko and Aaron both looked at them shocked, but there seemed to be something odd about all the data. They noticed that a few of the screens showed familiar Pokémon, but then there were these other Pokémon that neither had seen before.

"Where... are we?" Shinko whispered as she padded closer to the screens and looked at them even closer. "These computers are showing so many things, but what is it? Why are they showing all this data about Pokémon?"

"I don't know, but it must have something to do with the shadows that controls them," Aaron whispered back. "If it isn't then why would they have these things up there?"

Shinko and Aaron looked at the boards for several more minutes, but they quickly pulled away when they heard a loud thud, rushing away to find somewhere to hide. The first place they found was under a desk, and so they hurried under it hoping that whatever had come in wouldn't have heard or noticed them.

As they hid, and other sound echoed around them, and they both flinched lightly. Whatever it was, although they couldn't really tell, seemed to be trying to get at them and hurt their senses. Sure, they could handle it, but for how long?

"Do you really think they managed to escape through the vents and to here?" a familiar voice whispered. "I was searching the room, and although the vent was destroyed, nobody knew which direction they had headed or if they had even made it through the vents."

"I know that they had managed to get here, or we wouldn't have come here," another voice growled. "In case you forget, Lonliness, I was watching the cages when they managed to kill Hariyama. I watched as they destroyed the vent and went through."

"Well, maybe you should get your eyes checked, Leo, because I don't see them anywhere in here!" Lonliness snapped. "Unless they somehow managed to sneak past on our way in, I don't think they're fucking in here!"

Shinko nodded to Aaron as she silently poked her head out getting a look at the Midnight Lycanroc and Eevee who were looking around in the room. She instantly pulled back recognizing that Lycanroc as the exact same one who had frees them several minutes ago. She silently whispered this to Aaron, and this earned a loud growl from him. Not loud enough to be heard, but loud enough for her to notice it.

Shinko knew that Leo had heard it too as the Lycanroc silently headed over to where they were hiding. Both immediately snapped their maws shut as they tried to hide and keep silent from Leo and Lonliness. Shinko motioned for Aaron to slide a bit to the left, and, after giving her a confused glance, did as she told him.

"I think it might have just been a Rattata," Leo mumbled softly as he slid his claws just above their desk. "Those little buggers are everywhere in this facility."

"I know, but it couldn't have just been a Rattata," Lonliness growled back. "The Pokémon in my "facility" are all shadows, and the only ones not are those who are completely loyal or caged. You should know this, Leo. You were the first I allowed to become pure again."

Leo sighed softly and nodded before kicking under the desk, just barely hitting where Aaron had been moments ago. Just as Shinko had predicted, he was at least going to test wherever the sound had come from. Aaron's eyes widened as Leo pulled away, and tried his best to keep way and out of sight.

After some time, Leo and Lonliness went away and left the room entirely. Once they did, Shinko and Aaron silently crawled out from under the the desk and hurriedly looked around before heading to the door where they had exited. The door was locked by some sort of security panel, but there was also a retina scanner and this weird lock that held it tightly shut.

"These are some severe locks to keep this place out of anyone's sight," Aaron told her with a hint of envy in his voice. "We shouldn't worry about any of that now. We should just focus on getting out of here and finishing this battle."

"If you mean to just get out of here, then I agree," Shinko growled as she threw a Shadow Ball at the scanners and locks, instantly shattering them. "If you mean that we should battle Lonliness and hope we win, then you're a bloody idiot! We're nowhere near her level, and she has that traitorous Lycanroc on her side. We have to prepare!"

Aaron went to snap something at her, but nodded silently as the door then opened as it was unable to keep shut due to the security locks being destroyed. Shinko silently poked her head out like an excited child before she bolted down the left side of the hall and out of sight. Aaron hurriedly chased after her, but found it to no avail as she was the quicker of the two when she needed to be. He had the strength and heart, but she had the brains and speed.

Aaron hurriedly shook it off as he chased after her with a slight growl. If she got herself captured once more, then he really wasn't going to go back for her this time. He knew he'd regret it later, but he knew that it's be pointless since they'd just get captured again. He would just have to wait for her to find a chance to escape before he could step a paw inside.

It was some time after she had bolted down the hall that she found her first enemy, a Grumpig, and didn't hesitate to slam into them with her incredibly powerful Tackle. They stumbled back a bit before she boldly launched a Shadow Ball, which knocked them into a wall and also knocked them unconscious.

Shinko then took a second to breathe before bolting down the hall once more, but was unaware of just how much noise she had made with her single attack. Sure, she knew that Pokémon would come flocking, but she didn't know just how quick that would be. Even if she did know she was also quite unsure if they would even arrive. This did seem to be the kind of place where lots of accidents would be able to happen.

Shinko sighed as she slowed after a bit, feeling as exhaustion finally took over her muscles and she was forced to slow to a silent and slow walk. She felt a bit safe since no one was near her, but at least that kept up her hopes since that meant there also were no enemies nearby. At least, she was hoping that.

While focusing on walking forward, Shinko failed to notice as a dark shadow followed after her silently. She only got several more steps before she finally heard a whisper, and spun, throwing a Shadow Ball with it. However, even though the attack would have been super-effective, it just phased through like the shadow was nonexistent.

"Did you really think that was going to work, Shinko?" Lonliness laughed as she came from the shadow. "It's quite humorous to watch you try and struggle against us, but did you really think that you could escape our grasp? We watch what goes on everywhere in this facility. You getting here was all just luck."

"If what you say is true, then you must have known how we had escaped the cages then?" Shinko growled back. "And then you would have known if we were in the room with all that data, right? Why didn't you capture us then?"

"Well, I did know how you escaped, and that you were in that room the entire time, but I just wanted to get to you alone," Lonliness laughed. "I let you escape, but i just wanted to get you away from them all, so I set up this system of networks. Looks like it didn't take as long as I thought it would have."

"And what about all those other Pokémon in the cages?" Shinko growled back with slight hate and fear in her voice. "Were they all just shadows that you used to make us feel like we actually could?"

"Well, they were like you, but I didn't care for them," Lonliness sighed as though disappointed. "You're the only one that I only cared to keep here, and so I let all the rest escape. This is, everyone but your best friend."

"What did you do with him?" Shinko growled lightly, stepping forward with hate in her eyes. "You better not have hurt him!"

"Oh?" Lonliness giggled tilting her head. "I only caught him mere moments before I found you, so I haven't had a chance yet. However, I don't want him either, but I will use him if I have to."

"No!" Shinko snapped before she stepped back. "I'll cut you a deal."

Shinko looked up to Lonliness, but noticed that Lonliness had a slight glint in her eyes as though already thinking about how she could twist the deal in her favor. Shinko sighed as she stepped closer. Her head hung low as she knew what she had to do.

"I'll come with you," Shinko told her. "I'll come with no resistance and no attempt to escape, but you have to let Aaron free from this place. I think that's fair, right?"

"I think that deal strikes my heart," Lonliness giggled softly before she nodded happily. "Alright then, Shinko. To keep you and get rid of that pesky mutt is just what I would have expected from you. I accept your deal."

Before Shinko could react, she felt as a powerful force slammed into her chest and slammed her into the roof. She then slammed into the ground, which was almost twenty feet below, but barely felt anything as another powerful attack slammed into her and sent her back by several more feet. She could feel her energy faded, but smiled knowing that at least Aaron would get out. Then, she finally blacked out.

Aaron gave out a loud cry as he slammed into rock-hard ground, rolling several feet before coming to a stop some distance away. All he could feel was the muscles that ached with pain, but at least he was out of that building. Sure, he had no idea as to why he had been thrown out, but at least he had gotten away. All because some stupid Reuniclus thought that he had just wandered in and threw him out, but he felt there was more to it.

He quickly shook it off, however, and slowly limped his way from where he was and to wherever he would end up. He walked for what felt like hours, but didn't come across anything helpful. It was as though he had just been thrown somewhere random and was expected to just find something out of the blue.

After hours more of searching, Aaron could see that the sun was now starting to set now. Aaron felt that something was wrong though, and looked to the city where he had come from. He could barely see anything other than the darkness that now consumed it, but there was still that large tower that he had been thrown from. He felt that there was something there that he had forgotten, but was unsure what.

He sighed as he settled down, curling into a ball to rest and think for the night. However, just before he fell asleep, heavy footsteps made him turn and look to see a familiar face exiting from the woods.

"Aggron!" he cried out as he hurriedly pushed himself to his paws. "What the hell are you doing out here?! I thought you were at your guild protecting it!"

"My guild isn't as important as my recruit," Aggron told him as he threw aside a tree and walked over. "You got out of there with many more, but we have news that Shinko, the one who we were told to get out first, is still trapped, and that she gave herself for you."

"What?!" Aaron cried out in shock. "Shinko's still in there! Why the fuck would she give herself to get me out of there?!"

"We don't know, but you have to get out of here," Aggron said crossing his arms. "You need to get to Sol Town before Lonliness changes her mind and captures you again."

Aaron growled and hurriedly shook his head. He wasn't one to give up and let his friend just give themselves up for him. He hurriedly went run away from him, but a powerful arm wrapped around kept him trapped to Aggron's body.

"Let me go!" Aaron cried out. "I need to get to Shinko before they turn her into one of those shadows! You have to listen to me, Aggron!"

"I am, but you have to understand that going in right now is suicide," Aggron said as he started to back away and to the forest. "We have to get you away and we have to prepare for the final war."

Aaron went to snap back, but found that his energy started to fade away. Regret was the last thing he wanted, but he had failed to notice that his friend had failed to escape and gave up just for him to escape. He felt it was all his fault that she had been recaptured, but he couldn't focus any longer. He soon fell asleep in Aggron's arms.


	8. When the Darkness Fades

_/Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or the pictures. All I have is the characters and story. Goodbye._

Shinko sighed as she padded back in the forth in the metal cage that she had been trapped in for an unknown amount of time. All around her, white walls and a dark roof told her nothing as she would walk back and forth for what could have been hours on end before she fell asleep. Only occasionally would she actually get a chance to eat, but even those times were short-lived as she barely got enough to satisfy her hunger. Sure, she could just sleep and eat which would allow her to keep more energy, but she just felt that wouldn't be useful. Especially not since she didn't have anything to do here anyways.

After padding for a bit more, Shinko went to the middle of the room and tried to go back to sleep, but she found that she couldn't as the metal door that held her inside was suddenly opened and a powerful force slammed her into the wall. She didn't even flinch at it, but did let out a small groan of pain as she felt the wall crack under how hard she hit. She then fell to the ground and whimpered as she felt a familiar presence come closer to her.

"Stand up for me, Shinko," Lonliness told her to which she quickly complied. "I know you've been wandering how long you'd be here for, and it's time that we take you out to see what's to become of you. That is, if you want to make the choice."

Shinko growled lightly, but didn't strike as she knew exactly where that would lead her. Instead, she let out a sigh and silently followed Lonliness as she then turned and left the room. Shinko couldn't help but feel unnerved by what she was doing, but she knew never to argue back against Lonliness. She had seen what happens when anyone would, and it was definitely not pretty.

It was some time later that Shinko finally felt comfortable and looked around. Lonliness was now leading her down a purely white hall, but there would occasionally be a large window where she could see the outside world. Compared to what she remembered from when she had given herself in, the sky outside actually looked sunny for once. She wasn't quite sure why, but she kind of felt overjoyed by it.

"Take in that beautiful sun," Lonliness sighed as the windows became more plentiful and bright. "I decided that darkness wasn't quite my cup of tea anymore, and I kind of let the sun come back out for once. I think the world could use a bright outlook every once in a while."

Shinko nodded softly and kept staring out the windows in joy. She could see why Lonliness would have changed her mind, but it was still quite surprising to actually see it for once in what could have been weeks. She actually felt that this was the first time the world would have seen sun in years, but knew it couldn't have actually been that long.

"If you're curious about how long you've been here, it's been about five months," Lonliness told her, excitement evident in her voice. "In those five months, so many things have changed, and I must say things are actually getting a bit more interesting. You would agree if you knew what I meant, but you'll see soon enough."

Shinko nodded softly as she silently kept after Lonliness. She was quite curious as to what she meant, but she was sure that Lonliness would eventually explain to her what she really meant. She didn't now why she was actually starting to think this now, but there was something about Lonliness that she felt was changing. Lonliness seemed to be becoming slightly brighter and more like the uncorrupted Pokémon of the world.

Lonliness could feel the change too, but tried her hardest to keep the shadows under her control. She knew that she'd have to go back to her old lifestyle, but she wasn't ready to go back to being an immortal creature who would just be abandoned again and again until she found another one of the meteor shards that Darkrai had found. Now that she got a chance to think about it, she hadn't seen Darkrai in quite a long time.

She quickly shook off the thought and just hummed to herself as she pushed open this large door with her shadows. Inside, the room was lit by soft candles that just barely showed that cylindrical room that she would use when thinking about what to do. Unlike the rest of the building, this one actually had some life in it as it had several pictures and the candles gave off a light of life and joy.

Shinko looked at it rather shocked from just behind Lonliness before silently padding in and looking around with a light smile. She just couldn't believe what she was seeing, but it didn't matter as her attention was then drawn back to Lonliness who was looking under the desk for something. This instantly caught her attention and so she silently padded over to try and find out what it was that she was looking for.

"If you really are curious about anything, why don't you instead go look at the paintings and study those instead of me," Lonliness muttered as she was shifting through the drawers. "In all honesty, those things are much better and more interesting than what I do ever will be."

Shinko nodded curiously as she backed away and wandered over to look at the pictures. She didn't really believe they could be any more interesting than Lonliness, and she was soon proven correct as they were just portraits of Pokémon who had been here before she did. Sure, they might have been a bit interesting at one time, but they definitely weren't right about now.

Shinko sighed as she continued to look over the portraits of what she counted to be about forty different Pokémon. Sure, they actually _looked_ interesting, but they definitely weren't as exciting as Lonliness. Shinko was still a bit curious as to why she had changed her point of view, but she knew she'd eventually find out.

After some time, Shinko heard a thud and spun to look at Lonliness as she pulled out from under the desk. In her maw were these two scarves that she found quite interesting. The first one was a bright yellow scarf that kind of radiated a slight warmth like the sun would. The second was a light blue one that gave off a slight chill of curiosity like the moon in the sky.

"I present to you the sun and lunar scarves," Lonliness began before setting them before her. "The sun scarf glows with the radiance of a the sun, and shall evolve you into an Espeon. The lunar ribbon scarf gives off energy from the moon as it glows, and shall evolve you into an Umbreon. Choose wisely, for you'll never be able to go back once you choose."

"What do you mean by all of this, Lonliness?" Shinko asked as she looked at the ribbons. "Why are you giving me this choice? I thought you'd want to evolve yourself and rule in an even stronger form than this one?"

"That's kind of a funny story, but maybe it's time I tell you the truth," Lonliness sighed as the room was then consumed in shadows. "You see, many moths ago, I came to this world hoping to rule, and so I am, but there was always one problem. A prophecy stating that Heaven's queen would come to vanquish the beast in darkness was brought into play. For so long, I thought that the prophecy was a bluff, but I found I was wrong only moments after I met you. I know it's odd to request this, but I want you to finish the prophecy and kill me. I just want to be free, and I know it's unavoidable. It's best you do this now so that no one else suffers for my sins. Please, Shinko... I'm begging you."

Shinko looked at Lonliness confused before smiled and stepping closer. She really didn't know what to say to her, but she had an idea as to what she was to do. She thought that she'd forever live in this world of darkness, but here they were now. They were in a position that she knew she'd never be allowed to refuse.

"I'd love to accept your offer, Lonliness, but is this really fair for anyone?" Shinko asked with a soft smile. "I know you think this is unavoidable, but nothing in this world is unavoidable. You can just change your ways and become one of us. Let the shadows free and come to our side. Come to the side where the sun shines bright."

"Do you really think anyone would accept me after everything I've put them through?" Lonliness asked, tears welling up. "You should know that I'm the reason this world is how it is now, and no one could ever-"

She was instantly cut off as Shinko hugged her with a smile. She didn't now how to react, but soon started to hug her back instead. Lonliness could feel as the tears finally started to fall, and she knew that what she said was true. Sure, it'd take a while, but Lonliness could be just like them, but she wouldn't be at the same time. She could become like the creatures in the light. She could be freed from her curse.

"Thank you so much, Shinko, but I can't do that anymore," she whispered feeling as her paws started to crack. "I don't feel abandoned anymore. Without that, I feel like I can finally be free. Without my curse holding me down, I can finally become like you, but so much more different. I thank you for freeing me, Shinko, and I beg that you take over to become something that I never was. A normal Pokémon who loves to be with others."

Shinko went to say something to her, but she couldn't get anything out before she felt as Lonliness vanished from her paws. She stumbled forward a bit as she could feel that Lonliness had finally disappeared from her reality, and the shadows all faded away. She shivered softly at the feeling, but knew that she was right. She knew that anyone who had come from the shadows wouldn't be able to exist without the darkness that they lived with.

Shinko smiled softly as she then backed away and back to the scarves that Lonliness had left for her. With a smile, she picked the lunar scarf and put it onto the desk. She then padded over to the sun scarf and pulled it around her neck fur. She could feel as its energy radiated through her, but found she hadn't evolved yet. She quickly shook this off, however, and silently left the room hoping to get out of the building.

Shinko sighed lightly as she traveled from floor to floor, but was never stopped as the only Pokémon she ever saw were either unconscious, or way too busy to even care about what she was doing. She knew it was all because of Lonliness that this was happening, but she also knew this wasn't quite the end yet. After all, a story doesn't usually end with a villain giving in to what they always wanted from others. There's always a deeper meaning, and she knew they were going to come across it whether they like it or not.

Shaking softly, Shinko silently exited the building and looked around the streets of the city that she had been in for months on end. She smiled feeling the warm rays of the sun, and instantly forgot her worries as she then started on her way through the city and to find out where she was to go from then on. She knew she had to find her friends, but where could they possibly be? She never asked, and she feared she'd never know.

"Why do you think she would have let us go free?" she mumbled to herself as though there were multiple Pokémon around her. "I know that there's something else in play here, but what is it? Why would Lonliness just change over to the light side before fading away? It just makes no sense."

Shinko sighed knowing that she would get no answers if she continued to talk to herself, and so she walked around thinking to herself. She eventually ended up on the outside of the city, glancing back for only a second before turning away once more and silently slipping away and into the forest. She knew that she would eventually come across something here, but wasn't quite able to tell what it was.

Shinko started to hum as she kept walking for what could have been hours. She barely felt herself getting tired as she walked and walked and walked. She knew she was coming close to her destination, and smiled seeing a slight break in the trees. She rushed ahead and pushed through some underbrush and into a small clearing.

Shinko looked at the small clearing with shock and surprise as she silently headed forward to look around the area. She found that a gently breeze blew through the area and that the fresh smell of flowers wafted around, but there was also something else. Shinko could even feel as this odd energy seemed to come from the earth and was absorbed into her body straight from the ground.

As she felt the energy grow, she looked down to her paws to see her fur then started to change color. It started at her paws but became more evident as it spread up her body. The lilac fur that took over her old fur even seemed to be coming with something else as her body also started to change. She felt herself grow taller, and that her body even became much smoother and spindly.

She tried to get it to stop, but found that she couldn't control the change as it continued to crawl up her body and consume her even more. Shinko eventually shut here eyes and just let it happen knowing that whatever was to happen wasn't going to stop no matter how much she willed. Even then, as she tried to ignore it, she could feel an odd warmth coursing through her body

Soon enough, the warmth faded away, and Shinko opened her eyes to look upon the field. Silently, she then looked over her new body, and found just how much she had changer. Her usual brown and cream fur was now completely lilac, and her old tail had split into two, much thinner tails. The rest of her body was just a lot skinnier. She felt warm in this form, and felt that is was what she had been destined to become.

She smiled softly at the feeling and shivered as she could feel slight shifts in the air all around her. It was as though she was sensing something that she had never felt before, and found it to be quite soothing. It gave her a gentle feeling of comfort, and she felt that it would be useful if she found out just how to use it.

Shaking it off, she silently looked around before deciding that she had no more business here, and left the odd clearing. She could feel as she finally left it, and hummed to herself as she padded through the forest. Odd enough, she felt like she could tell where everything was at once, but knew where nothing was as well. It was like she was sensing everything around her, but couldn't really believe it.

Silently, she shook off all her thoughts as she pushed her way forward and to a random location where she felt that she was going to come across something that would be able to help her. She could just feel it in the air, but she knew she had quite the distance before she came across the location where she was headed. Instead of whining like she would as an Eevee, she kept a cool head and pushed onward to reach her goal.

Many miles away, Aaron growled as he was thrown to the ground by Aggron, who was now in his mega form. Aaron was severely bruised and battered, but he still he stood and fought back against Aggron. Even though he knew there was no chance of winning, he was going to push beyond his limits and fight back against him with all the power he could muster.

Aaron quickly launched his Rock Tomb before kicking up dust with his paws. The cloud gave him just enough time to strafe to the right and launched several more of his rock-type attacks. As the cloud faded, he saw that Aggron had come out from it practically unscathed. Aggron was just standing there, his arm protecting his face from any damage that could have hit him there.

"That was a nice try, but you should know that rock-type attacks aren't very effective in me!" Aggron called our before a slight smirk appeared on his face. "if you truly wish to beat me, then muster all your strength and come at me, Aaron! Shinko would never want to see a wimp like you-"

"Shut up!" Aaron screamed before Aggron could finish. "Shut up about Shinko! I know it's my fault she was captured, and I swore I'd get her back! I will keep that promise no matter what it takes! Even if it has been so long, I still have hope! I am determined to save her!"

As he screamed, a bright light took over his body and energy started to surge through his body. Aggron was slight forced back by the extreme winds being forced at him, but was even more worried as he could see Aaron starting to grow in size. Aggron watched as he grew longer, taller, and much more powerful. It was only a few moments, but he had drastically changed in so many things.

Aggron looked at Aaron as the white light faded, and he was left to look at a Midday Lycanroc. He had already grown by so much, and here he was now and in this form. Aggron couldn't believe that he had just evolved, but didn't let it distract him as he suddenly threw another rock hoping to catch him off-guard.

Aaron's eyes flew open and he let out a loud howl, which instantly shattered the rock. The howl even knocked Aggron back by several feet, but he wasn't done yet. A white light once again surrounded Aaron, but so did a large force of energy. Without thinking, Aaron then rushed at Aggron at blinding speeds. Before Aggron could react, he felt as the rock-hard head and body of Aaron slammed into him and sent him flying backwards. Just as he landed, he looked up to see a Rock Tomb sent at him, which then struck his chest and knocked him even further into the ground.

Aaron panted heavily from some distance away as he finally let out a breath from his attacks. He could feel as the energy faded away, but still stood boldly as he slammed his paws into the ground. He could feel the strength within him now, and smirked.

"So, it appears I have evolved," he whispered softly before looking over his new-found body. "I can't wait to take this for a test spin. Actually, I think you might have been that test run, Aggron. What do you think about it?"

Aggron groaned as he slowly pushed his way from the ground and looked over to Aaron. He only got out a light chuckle before white energy surrounded him and he fell to the ground, losing his mega evolution as he did. He didn't even know what to say to Aaron, but he knew that he was right. It was a bit of a test run, but it wasn't at the same time. They could do a bit more training later, but now wasn't the time.

"I agree, but you still have even further to go if you are to become the best that you can be," Aggron sighed as he held his arm. "You are indeed growing very powerful, but you have yet to reach your breaking limit. We will train until then, and I will make sure you can control it."

Aaron nodded and panted heavily as he sat and tried to catch his breath. Some time after that, he heard an odd rustling and turned to see as Alakazam came pushing through the nearby forest and to them. He seemed to be stressed as all hell, but there was something about it. He wasn't quite sure what, but he was so sure.

"Sir Aggron!" Alakazam cried out as he levitated over. "I just got reports from our spies back in Darkness Central! They say they saw Shinko leaving the city after the shadows all disappeared! We believe she might have eliminated the thing behind this entire war!"

"Is that even possible?" Aggron asked in a hushed voice as he turned to look at Aaron. "She's been missing for the past five months. I don't believe that she'd just be able to escape and defeat the darkness after having been gone for so long."

"I couldn't believe it myself at first, but I know it's true!" Alakazam said before pulling a small envelope out his bag. "Leo found this in the office of their leader, and we have reason to believe this might have been what they had been planning. Either that, or it's probably something else."

Aggron sighed and rolled his eyes as he took the envelope and tore it open. Inside was a short piece of paper, but there was still a lot of writing. Whoever had written this obviously had a lot of time on their hands. He sighed as he shook his head and unfolded it a bit to finally read it.

"This is my apology, and to say what has been going on," it began. "It all started with a wish to stop being lonely, and it has been for so long. However, I can see that I am only lonely because I let myself be. Because I now realize this, I have cast away my life and set free those who I know were right. I have decided that being free and dead is better than alive and caged. So, for this reason, I have decided to look deeper into the cause of my madness, and found its source hidden thousands of feet under the ground. The darkness that controls us is of this world, but not of this planet. Whatever it is has been controlling us for thousands of years. I believe it is finally time to strike back and destroy it, but I can't do so myself. That is why I am calling upon you, Shinko and Aaron, to save our world. You will know where to find the hidden dungeon that leads to the monster. As my final request, and my greatest wish, please save everyone."

Aggron and Alakazam looked over the note slightly shocked, but both knew what had to be done now. Aggron knew they had to find Shinko and that Aaron had to be trained even more than before. Alakazam knew this as well, but there was something more. Neither had ever heard oft his powerful and dark force, but they were sure that if it had been here for thousands of years that there might be something in books from ancient times.

Silently, they both nodded to each other before turning to see that Aaron had ben watching them the entire time. Aggron sighed lightly as he was the first to break away from his spot and walked over to Aaron. he knew he'd find out anyways, so might as well tell him now.

"I have some great news, and some bad news for you," Aggron said rubbing the back of his neck. "You see, we have found that Shinko has finally escaped the clutches of the Shadow Queen, and that she is somewhere in the forest either near the city or near here. The bad news is that we need to find her and send you both on a rescue mission that might endanger us all."

"What?" Aaron asked slightly confused. "What do you mean by any of that? You do realize that I, unlike you, don't like things just getting dropped in me all of a sudden. I'm not that quick to learn about whatever it is that you say. I battle my way through things."

"Right," Aggron sighed before thinking a bit. "Well, let's just say that Shinko is free and is possibly coming to find you, and when she does, you'll both be sent on a mission to save the rest of the world from disaster."

Aaron sighed and nodded. At least Aggron slowed down enough for him to understand, but there were so many things wrong with what he said. First off, Shino had been missing for over five months now, and why would they be sending them on a mission as soon as she was? it just made no sense. He then went to point these out, but was rudely interrupted by a loud cry, and looked upward to see a Pidgeot circling overhead.

"Important new for Aggron and Alakazam!" it called out before swooping down. "We have found Shinko as you have requested us to do! We found her just as she evolved in Sunny Clearing, and is now on her way here as an Espeon!"

"Thank you very much, Pidgeot," Alakazam said before turning to Aaron. "Did you hear that? Shinko's finally coming home."

"I did hear that," Aaron sighed as he pushed his way past them and over to the forest. "You tell them to cancel their search. I'm going to find her myself. If you come after me, then I'm not holding back."

Before either Aggron or Alakazam could react, he rushed off and left no sign that he had even been there. Aggron growled as he clenched his fist watching after where he had disappeared off to. Aggron knew he was a hardhead, but had no idea that he had been enough to just rush off like this. Teamwork was what they stood for, but Aaron definitely wasn't the best at any of that stuff.

Aggron sighed as he turned to Alakazam and nodded softly. They both knew it was time for it al to take place. Besides, history needs to repeat itself or no one will ever be able to grow in the word.


	9. Reunion

_/Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the pictures. Just the characters and story. I know we hate disclaimers, but might as well._

Shinko let out a loud yawn as she slowly opened her eyes. The silver metal bars of her cage had deep cuts into them, but she still wasn't yet free. She had been trying for a very long time to get out of there, but could never cause more than a dent before she felt of her powers being drained. She would occasionally black out and find herself in a new cage, but none of that had happened in the past couple of days. She felt they were actually getting lazy, but that was just what she thought.

Shinko quickly shook off her thoughts and stood up against the cold and bare metal. All around her were other cages, but she was the only one in the room. The only escape was the ventilation in the roof, or the large metal door that was kept locked at all times unless she was fed. Even if she did try to escape, there was a guard just outside the door, and she knew she'd immediately die if she tried anything.

As she stood there thinking silently to herself, she heard a familiar noise and looked over to the door to see that it had opened and that this weird Pokémon had walked in. She couldn't even described what it looked like as it was constantly changing color, shape, and size. Even if she could describe it, she probably wouldn't even want to. It looked horrendous!

"Why are you still here?" it seemed to whisper to her as it came closer. "I had heard that the one of prophecy had been freed many moons ago. Why are you still here within these cages of Hell and prison?"

Shinko sighed and looked away, not really caring for what it meant. In truth, she had kind of been losing hope for so long now, but she knew that she couldn't give up yet. This beast, however, seemed to be sapping away at her determination and hope even more than Lonliness did by herself. Of course, it could have just been her, but she still felt more than just uncomfortable near the creature.

"I see that you choose not to speak," it whispered as it yet again moved closer to her. "Why is it that every time we met that you stay silent? I know you have much to say, and yet you never do say it. Perhaps, you are afraid of me?"

"I have no reason to fear you," Shinko whispered softly, growling afterwards. "You are nothing but whatever the hell you are. Why should I fear an odd creature such as yourself? I have no reason, and so I shall not feel fear."

"Brave words to come from one so small," it laughed as it grew and moved even closer to her. "You are indeed brave, but you are not the one I search for. Perhaps your bravery should be put beyond the test, and into the real world."

"Just go away," Shinko said as she ignored what it had to say. "If I am not the one you search for, then go and leave me alone. I'm nothing to anyone, and no one is anything to me. Perhaps you should go and look for whatever it is that you want to look for."

"I would, but I have found something much more interesting," it laughed as it slid close to the cage. "You are indeed very curious, and I think that you might be another one that I should add to my list."

Shinko sighed softly as she closed her eyes and turned away. That haunting voice quickly faded and she opened her eyes to find that it had completely disappeared from around her. She sighed lightly as she collapsed in her cage and looked around. The barren walls now felt very nice to her. Perhaps she could learn a thing or two from being alone with nothing but yourself.

"I just wish I could go home," she whispered as she started to drift to sleep. "I just wish I could see all my friends again. I wish I could see my family. I just wish I could see Aaron again. I miss the pup."

Before she could let herself fall asleep, her eyes shot open and she quickly stood to find herself in the middle of a forest. She was panting heavily as she tried to register what had happened, and looked around only to find that she had passed out during her walk. She sighed lightly as she looked to her paws, which were covered in a disgusting coating of mud and grime.

She quickly shook her head and started to pad forward as she knew she could worry about everything else that she needed to later. Sure, she hated her fur being filthy and all, but she was more worried about fining her way out the forest and into the hands of freedom and light. Even then, she felt that she wouldn't be home-free as that dream she had was still vividly in her head. That weird mass, although it didn't really scare her, made her think quite a bit as she tried to figure out what it was and why it had been there. The figure was familiar, but it wasn't exactly at the same time. It was almost as though it had all been a dream entirely.

"It was probably nothing," she whispered to herself as she could feel the air getting lighter around her. "If it was anything important, I'd probably remember it. If it wasn't, then I guess it'd be like this. I'm not really sure, but I'm just making a guess here."

Shinko immediately face-pawed as she realized that she was just talking to herself. Even if she did have a reason for doing so, it didn't make it any less odd. If anything, it just made her look like she was a bit more insane that anyone would like to admit. Then again, she wasn't fully sane. She had lost so much of her true self during all that time in the cages and because of her evolution.

Without much thought other than her previous dream, Shinko silently padded forward as the air finally lifted and the sun started to break the canopy above her head. She didn't notice, however, as she kept heading forward. At least, she didn't until she had heard a loud growl, and instantly looked up to see she was facing against a Midday Lycanroc.

The Midday Lycanroc silently watched her, but she didn't let it bother her as she could feel familiar warmth coming from it. She knew it had been such a long time, and smiled softly as she stepped closer. He seemed a bit hesitant, but he soon let go as she nuzzled against his chest. That warm and trusting feeling had only been with one person in their entire lives.

"I really missed you, Shinko," Aaron whispered softly and gently held her close. "It's been so long since we last saw each other. I'm so sorry I didn't come to find you, but I couldn't get away from Aggron and Alakazam. I really am sorry about not coming to save you from Lonliness' clutches."

"It's all okay, Aaron," Shinko whispered back as she nuzzled into his surprisingly soft chest fur. "I was able to get out of there after so long, so you shouldn't at all be scared. Besides, Lonliness won't ever come for us. I managed to get her to change her mind about this world."

"You managed to change the mind of the worst person in the world?" Aaron laughed as he pulled away. "You have been pretty persuasive in the past, but definitely not enough to change the mind of the one who enslaved thousands and murdered hundreds just for her amusement."

"If you don't believe me, look at the city where we had been kept," Shinko said before shaking softly. "Look at the sky where the sun now shines brighter than ever. She's finally passed on and has left us free of her tyrannical rule. You have to see it for yourself, Aaron."

Aaron laughed once more and nodded softly. In truth, he had really seen what had been going on for the past few weeks, but could he really believe what Shinko wanted to tell him? Of course, he truly did trust her, but there was just something else about it all as well. He knew that Lonliness was powerful and that she was very hard to understand, but why would she just change her mind about everything just because of Shinko? It really made no sense to him.

"Earth to Aaron," Shinko laughed which snapped him from his thoughts. "Did you not just hear what I told you, dimwit?"

"Of course I didn't," Aaron said rolling his eyes at her. "If you couldn't tell, there's been a lot on my mind for the past six or seven minute we've been together again. I'm obviously lost in trying to understand what you're telling me."

"Well, I was just thinking that we should go home and get some rest," Shinko laughed as she gently butted his shoulder. "I really want to feel the warmth an comfort of the grass beneath my body once more. Sleeping out here in the wild and in that cage was not at all comfortable."

Aaron laughed softly and nodded softly before turning and looking to the way he had come from. In truth, the map he had seen showed that they were possibly thousands of miles from their home in Luna Town, but they could cover that distance pretty quickly. Of course, there was also that mission that Aggron had told him about.

"I don't think we can go home just yet," Aaron sighed before looking away. "Aggron and Alakazam told me that we had a mission to complete. I don't know why, but they made it sound really urgent. They said the fate of the world rested on the mission, but I don't know if I should believe it."

"Well, we're afraid that you very much should believe it," Alakazam mumbled as he and Aggron teleported in right behind them. "We read this letter several times and even looked into the library. Whoever wrote this letter was more than aware of its existence, and they want you two to save our world."

Shinko gave out a small squeal of shock and surprise as the duo appeared, and almost blasted them back with her new powers. Of course, she had been unable to as she feared that Aaron would get caught in the blow. The again, she'd rather attack someone than have a heart attack.

"You scared the living hell out of me," Shinko panted heavily as she took deep breaths. "Why the hell are you telling us this? Don't you believe that there are others more suited for this than us? Sure, it says we should do it and all, but why not just send someone more fitting?"

"Don't question the actions of your mentor," Aggron said to her boldly. "If we say you're to go, then you're going to go. We don't care if you're fitted or not. The letter said only you two stood a chance. You have to see that, Shinko and Aaron."

"Since when were you ever my mentor?" Shinko laughed lightly as she stood against him. "All you did was help build a house, and then you disappeared! Me and Aaron did most of our own training, and then you abandoned me for five months while I was trapped by Lonliness! If you truly were my mentor, you would have come back for me! Instead, you left me there to rot for five fucking months!"

"I know it seems bad, but we were planning on coming to get you!" Alakazam snapped to her before Aggron could respond. "We hit so many bumps in the road that we had to search more and more, but anyone we sent would get captured! We wanted to save you, but we couldn't get anywhere nearby."

"Then why not send in a ghost-type?!" Shinko snapped. "The shadows can't effect them, and they could just phase through the walls! Why not come yourself, Alakazam? I watched as Pokémon teleported in and out of the building! You telling me you couldn't have seen those windows right there?! You're the worst mentors I've ever seen!"

Shinko immediately threw a Shadow Ball, but it was quickly thrown away and Alakazam pinned her with his psychic powers. Aaron and Aggron both watched as the psychic-types suddenly lashed out, but neither got in the way as they feared getting caught up in the mess that was to come. Suddenly, before either could react, a powerful wave of energy knocked them all back. Alakazam could only watch as Shinko snapped away from his Psychic and threw another Shadow ball, which hit him full in the face.

Shinko panted heavily as she landed on the soft grass. She couldn't believe what she had done, but she liked the feeling that it gave her. Before allowing him to react, Shinko quickly cloned herself using a Double Team, and rushed at him using her Quick Attack. She could only feel as she slammed into him hundreds of times, but was soon thrown away by the even more powerful Pokémon.

"Did you really think that I'd just let you attack me?" Alakazam growled as he floated closer to her. "You really must have gone insane in that cage of yours. Perhaps it's time to learn your lesson about why I'm the strongest Pokémon here!"

Shinko didn't say anything as she just shot a Shadow Ball and disappeared using her Double Team. She panted heavily from behind a tree as Alakazam dealt with the clones, but knew she didn't have much time to fight left. She silently shook that off as she felt energy building up in her paws.

She took a soft breath before she bolted from her hiding spot and slammed into Alakazam's back from behind. As soon as she hit, she spun and kicked several times before landing and rushing at him once more. She slammed into him without any mercy, and was soon rushing to and from him. Even Alakazam, who still had a speed advantage, was struggling to find or catch her.

Before long, Alakazam could feel as she was wearing down his energy from the single attack, and tried to throw her away with his Psychic attack. However, even if he was stronger, she broke through his attack, and slammed into him head on. This caused him to completely collapse under her attack, and flew into a tree.

Aaron and Aggron went to rush forward, but instead saw as Shinko stopped and looked over Alakazam. Aaron sighed and rushed over to her side, checking that she was okay, and finding nothing more than a few bruises and scars. Aggron ran over to Alakazam in return, but found nothing worse than bruised ribs. They were both okay, but they would both need rest.

"I can't believe you won that," Aaron sighed as he let Shinko rest against him. "You did positively amazing in that fight. Even though you might have started a rivalry against Alakazam, you'll always be my number one Pokémon."

"Thanks, but I just need to sleep," Shinko panted. "I think that battle took a lot more out of me than I'd lie to admit. I feel like I'm on the edge of fainting, and I haven't felt that since I practically blew myself up in my cage."

Aaron sighed and nodded softly as he slowly led her away from Aggron and Alakazam. He knew it'd take a while for them to find a place to rest at this pace, but they pushed on through the forest. While walking, both of their minds wandered to Alakazam and Aggron, and both thought of just how furious both would be with how Shinko had turned her back on them.

"Do you think it was wrong of me to attack Alakazam like that?" Shinko asked as she looked to the ground. "I mean, he was asking for it by trying to challenge what I knew. I had been trapped for a while, so I knew a lot more than him!"

"Just calm down, Shinko," Aaron sighed as he focused on walking. "I know that he challenged you first, and that you were right, but you shouldn't have just attacked. I mean, I support your decision, but I really don't think it was the best of ideas."

Shinko sighed softly and nodded as she kept her eyes on the ground. She knew it had been wrong to outright just attack Alakazam, but it was his own fault that she had chosen to strike back. Even then, she knew that she shouldn't have done it as Aggron would probably be on her tail about it too. There were so many things that could go wrong, and so many of those things will go wrong.

She quickly shook off the thoughts and instead focused on placing her paws in front of the other. She felt like something was off, but couldn't quite explain. There was this odd warmth in her heart, and it wasn't just because of Aaron. There was this odd warmth because of a foreboding feeling that she was getting. It was almost like something was warning her about what was to come.

She quickly shook off the feeling as she felt the ground change from under them, and looked up to see that they had finally exited the forest, and were now on a stone trail that led somewhere. She looked up to Aaron to get an answer, but he was focused on straight ahead of them. She then looked back to the ground and watched the odd pattern of stones as they passed over.

After a bit more, the duo got off the stone road and instead walked another dirt trail. Shinko looked up to see them heading towards this large building that reminded her of the apartments in the city. She thought it could be a possibility that this was where Aaron had escaped to, but wasn't quite sure as he never struck her as the large building type.

"So, this is where I've been forced to live for the past four months," Aaron sighed as he looked up the large building and to the top. "It may look fancy and all from out here, but the inside is rather normal for us. Sure, it's clean and all, but you still have a couple of loud and obnoxious Pokémon in here. It's like the city, but a lot more secluded."

Shinko nodded softly as Aaron then led her inside. She knew she'd need the rest and that they'd need to prepare for whatever was to come. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming, and that they would be chasing after it themselves. With a sigh, she finally let her thoughts fade away, and focused on here and now.

Silently, Shinko followed Aaron past a front desk and up a flight of stairs to a hallway. She still followed him, but watched as they passed door after door until they reached the end of the hall, where Aaron then pushed open a door. Inside was a room that reminded of their old home, but it looked so much smaller. Even if it was set up the same, it wasn't.

"Well, I guess this is where we'll be spending the night once more," Aaron sighed as he padded inside. "At least we get a bit of privacy here. I mean, we had it back in our old home, but it'll be a bit more secure here."

Shinko nodded softly as she padded in and, after kicking the door shut, padded close to Aaron and nuzzled his cheek. She muttered a quick thanks as she did so, and soon fell asleep against his fur. For the first time in five months, she actually felt like she could relax. She sure was glad to be free, and she was hoping nothing bad would happen too soon.

Many, many miles away, a dark mass was swirling around in a hidden cave. Carcasses of the Pokémon who had come down here and seen it were lying everywhere that you could look. The dark mass seemed to be gaseous, but it couldn't have because it wasn't spreading out. It seemed to be physical, but fluid enough to expand and contract at will.

Unlike most other gases, liquids, or solids, this one seemed to be sentient as it floated around and "looked" at the carcasses it had made. Most of them were just dungeon-livers, and others were explorers, but there was only one that it was interested in. This was the one that it had come for, but had been unable to gather at first.

As it swirled around, the figure headed towards one of the many carcasses that littered the floor. With a light hiss, the shadow suddenly shot forward and consumed the skeleton, taking the shape of the Deoxys that it had killed for the cave. It stretched out its tentacle-like arms, and "smirked" as it found itself already gaining the power that Deoxys had once held.

"It's finally come," it whispered softly. "The final battle approaches. Soon, I will kill the prophesized and eliminate all of the Pokémon race. Nothing can stop me now."


	10. The Final Battle

_/This chapter was written and edited on Christmas Eve(Dec. 24), Christmas Day(Dec. 25), and Boxing Day(Dec. 26). To any who read this, have a happy holidays, and I wish you good luck in the future. May Starclan forever light your path.  
/Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I own only the story and this single picture. The rest is either Nintendo or the artist who made the art. So, saying that, let's on with this story, and I'll see you at the end._

Shinko gave a loud cry as she felt herself being torn from her nest. However, her panicked cry as short-lived as she was then thrown and slammed into the wall. She gave a startled yelp, but that too was short as she was yet again picked up and thrown into another wall. She kept trying to stand and fight, but whatever it was that was attacking her was much to quick and powerful. Before long, she was laying limp right next to the door. Her breathing was now course and pained, and her eyes were barely open as she could feel herself dying.

"You should have stayed away, Shinko," an odd voice whispered into her ear. "For interfering with my work and killing of my greatest servant, I will make sure you suffer dearly for your past sins. After all, not all angels are perfect. Sometimes, they become like us, and they fall to the ground."

Shinko, left confused by the words, suddenly felt as she was picked up once more. She only heard a light laugh before she was thrown once more. She could feel as she slammed into the window and shattered it immediately. She could only feel the glass in her body and the wind against her fur. She was still trying to understand the words, but didn't get to as she then slammed into the ground.

Shinko's eyes suddenly shot open and she hurriedly pushed herself to her paws. She found herself to be breathing incredibly hard and that her heart was beating at a near impossible amount. All around her, her nest was scattered and there were several dents in the floor. She remembered her dream, but felt that it had to have been real for this. However, when she looked over to the window, she saw it was completely fixed and fine. That reassured her it was only a dream, but there was still so much off about it.

Shinko hurriedly shook it off as she silently got out of her nest and headed for the window. She leaped up on the ledge and watched the outside world. Based on what she could see, it was still very early morning. She knew this because she could sense the sun as it rose, and it was unlikely that both she and Aaron had slept for a complete twenty-four hours.

"What in hell was that dream?" she whispered to herself as she saw the world outside getting brighter. "Who even was that voice? I know it should be familiar to me, but there was something wrong about it. Was that beast that attacked me the one that we have to defeat, or is it something else? I just wish I could know."

Shinko sighed lightly as she turned back to look at Aaron, but found him still asleep. It took a bit for her to decide, but she felt that she could take a walk around and get to now the surrounding area. She sighed as she then moved away from the window and left the room altogether, She silently followed the path she and Aaron had taken yesterday to get out, and was soon out the door and on the silent and darkened streets.

Along her way down the streets, Shinko saw several Pokémon walking around in the darkness. Unlike her, they were attracted to the moonlight and dreams of sleeping Pokémon, but she didn't worry about them. That was until she saw a familiar dark figure silently heading away from the town. She growled to herself as she then chased after and followed them. She didn't remember where she had seen them, but she knew the figure was dangerous.

Within moments, she followed him out of the town, and looked forward to see they were heading for the mountains. She wasn't quite sure what was important about them to this Pokémon, but she knew better to question it, and instead followed the creature. She did think of the possibility of this being a trap, but that was quick to fade when the figure had yet to realize she was there.

Right behind her, Aaron silently followed suit. He had sensed her leave the room, and was soon following after her with a bag around his neck. He didn't see what she was following, but knew that whatever it was had to have been fairly powerful. He could sense the darkness that came from ahead, and he had never felt anything like it before. It was of an incredible magnitude, and it scared him.

Silently, they both pushed on and followed another. Shinko followed the mysterious shadow while Aaron followed her. They were both sure that they were practically going to their suicide, but neither would care that much. After all, they were determined to end the shadows. Shinko had thought that she did, but apparently not. Aaron, on the other hand, just wanted to help Shinko. Sure, he had no idea what was going on, but he figured it best so he didn't panic.

After some time, they all reached the mountains, but Shinko was left stunned as she saw the creature phase right through a wall. She growled lightly before she too chased after, phasing through the wall like it wasn't there and entering a large corridor full of branching halls. She knew she had played into someone's hands now, but she pushed forward and onward.

Aaron, who was still on the outside, stared dumbfounded as he realized that he had lost Shinko. He had fallen back a bit, but didn't realize he had done so by so much. Instantly, he rushed forward and used Rock Climb to start scaling the rocks of the mountain. He used his attack very rarely, and this was one of the first times he'd be using it since he had learned it.

He was silent as he scaled the mountain with accuracy and agility that only the most expertise of Pokémon would have. In no way was he an expert at this, but he knew that his friend was in major trouble and that he was the only one who could save her. He knew he was their only chance, and this would probably give then training for their mission. If not, then they could just train the day after all this.

Back in the cave, Shinko was currently traversing the largest amount of halls she had ever seen before. Unlike the building where she had been caged, this place was incredibly large and immeasurable. Sure, it had to end somewhere, but everywhere she looked was just pure darkness. Sure, more lit up as she walked, but there was still so much that was shrouded in darkness. It was like a mystery dungeon, but there weren't any enemies.

She quickly shook off all the worries as she continued to search, but came across nothing at all. Sure, she'd come across a staircase every once in a while, but there was nothing else. There was only floor after floor of silence and peace. She knew that something was wrong, but never thought to search much deeper. She just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, and this was how she was going to do that.

While walking forward, soft voices and whispers started to reach her ears, but they were echoing from every way. She growled as she tried to shake it all off, and pushed her way forward. However, one of the voices stuck out, and she was soon stopped and listening to them. She didn't now how or why, but it just did.

"Is that one the angel?" a voice whispered in such a low voice it could barley be heard. "Or is she the demon of the legend? I can't quite tell. Her heart is conflicted, and yet she's so confident. Perhaps she really is the angel. What do you think?"

"I am quite unsure myself, but we are to stay out of the way," another voice whispered. "Let her pass, and we will continue this talk. I have heard that Espeon are very sensitive to their surroundings. It is best she is left unaware."

After that, no more sounds came, and she silently started forward. She thought she had heard a sigh, but quickly shook it off and continued forward. Those words seemed to ring in her head, but she just let them go, and focused on the ground in front of her. The dirt had finally given way to stone, and that stone soon gave way to an odd type of metal. It remained that way from the rest of her walk to the summit.

She soon poked her head from the cave as she climbed another flight of stairs. As she came out, she looked around the odd summit that she had come across. It was completely flat, but there were wall-like structures that would prevent anyone from flying out. She felt some sort of connection to this place, but let it be her imagination as she stepped forward and looked around.

"What even is this place?" she mumbled softly as she spun and looked around the area that she was in. "Why did that figure come up here, and why did I follow? Am I even supposed to be up here?"

"Those are good questions, Shinko," an oddly familiar voice whispered. "Perhaps you would like to know, but I'm afraid you can't. It's the end of the line for you, so I hope you loved living like this."

Shinko hurriedly spun as loud laughter rang out, and looked at... herself? She stepped back as she saw another Espeon just like herself standing as though it were some kind of mirror. She could feel as he heart pulsed and her breathing sped up in fear and shock. She couldn't believe what she was looking at, but here she was. She had her own clone, and it looked too confident.

"Surprised to see me?" the clone asked with a smile. "I must admit that you came to me much sooner than anticipated, so I'm not at full power, but I can still kill you right her and now."

"I won't let you do that," Shinko growled as she boldly stepped forward. "I may be a bit shocked at seeing you, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to let you kill me. Ever since I woke up in that jungle with Aaron, I promised to myself I'd do my best, and you're not going to stop me! I'll strike you down first!"

"That is quite the interesting thing for you to say," her opposite laughed. "However, I am afraid you misunderstood what I have to say. I have been here for much longer, and I have much more power than you. Even at your best, you stand no chance against me! I am your God, and you will bow down to me!"

"NEVER!" Aaron called out as he pounced from the wall, slamming into her and sending her flying to the other wall.

"Aaron!" Shinko called out before rushing over and nuzzling him. "Wh-what are you doing here?! I thought you were still sleeping at that building. How'd you even follow me? And how'd you get up there?"

"I'd love to answer your questions, but we have a much bigger problem on our paws," Aaron growled. "That weird being gives me the creeps. I feel that thing isn't just you, but something larger entirely. Something no one has ever fought before."

Shinko nodded and quickly pulled away before turning to face her clone, only to see it was more of a giant black mass of energy now. She growled lightly as they both backed away, watching as the mass of energy swirled around before taking shape of a Deoxys. Shinko almost threw up at just how grotesque it was.

The Deoxys smirked softly as it stood before them in a half-eroded state. Even if it looked grotesque right then, it's healing factor was helping it started to regenerate limbs that had broken apart or fallen off. Of course, it was still disgusting as new body parts manifested from the decaying creature.

Before long, it was once again whole, but it was still completely disgusting. It's body was completely grey, but its eyes and crystal were still purple. It smirked once again as it moved closer to the duo, making them back up a couple of steps. They could sense something within the body of Deoxys, and there was this massive energy that was washing off of it and onto them.

"You really think that you can defeat me?' Deoxys growled as its arms waved. "I am a God compared to you pathetic creatures of this world! I will destroy all of the Pokémon world, but I will start with you two first."

Before either could react, a large dome of dark energy surrounded the top of the mountain and caged them in. Shinko looked back to check the staircase, but that too had been completely blocked off by the dark energy. She quickly turned back to Deoxys and growled. This was the true being of dark, and it was time to finally finish it all.

Shinko let out a small cry before shooting forward with a Quick Attack. She instantly slammed into Deoxys' body, but then found herself slamming into the dark wall with a loud cry. Aaron instantly took her place, slamming into Deoxys with Accelerock before dodging to the side and biting it. He immediately spit it out as he got a disgusting fluid in his mouth, and was then thrown into the wall with Shinko.

Shinko groaned as she pushed herself to her paws as Aaron slammed into the wall. She could see the Deoxys stepping closer to her, but growled as she then threw it back with her Psychic before rushing forward slamming a Shadow Ball into its gut. She looked up to see a small hole in Deoxys' gut, but it quickly sealed before she was once again thrown back. This time, she managed to land on her feet.

She growled as she stepped in front of Aaron. He was still trying to struggle to his feet as his body felt paralyzed. He could barley move as it was, and this paralysis was kicking his ass over and over. He just found it was impossible to move, but wasn't about to give. Thy both knew they couldn't afford it, and they weren't going to let it happen.

"Just give up," Deoxys said as it floated closer to them. "You know that you can't beat me. No matter how hard you try, I'll just regenerate my body over and over until you two are too tired and weak to face me."

"Even if what you say is true, I'm not going to give up," Shinko growled as she stepped closer. "No matter what happens, I'm going to stand once more! No matter what you say, I'm going to keep pushing harder and harder! No matter what you do, I'm going to protect my friends and family! I am not here to quit! I am here to protect, and I am never going to let my word fall below my purpose!"

A white light suddenly enveloped Shinko, forcing Deoxys to be pushed back. She growled and shut her eyes as she could feel something happening to her body, but didn't care what it was as energy was starting to course through her body. Before she could move, she felt as the energy gathered in her heart, and soon faded away. She opened her eyes once more, and looked to Deoxys with a new and powerful look.

Aaron finally got to his paws and looked at Shinko from behind. Her body had turned white, and giant wings had sprouted from her back. He could see as a powerful wave of light and energy waved from her body. it was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and reminded him of what the creature had looked like before turning into the Deoxys.

"So, you have finally shown your true wings, Shinko no Tsubasa?" Deoxys laughed before darkness encompassed his body. "The Wings of Faith and Wings of Fear have finally come together one last time. Let's see if that prophecy you sent so many years ago will finally come true. My name is Kyofu no Tsubasa, and I will eliminate you!"

The black aura around Kyofu suddenly started to change his body to where her looked like Shinko, but was entirely black, and the wings that came from his back were ash-grey. His eyes, once a bright purple, were now a blood red. Every part of him contrasted what Shinko looked like. Every part of him was her opposite. They were like two sides of the same coin. They were both the same thing, but completely opposite beings.

Aaron slightly backed away from the sight as the two faced against each other. Neither of them had attacked yet, but he could tell that whatever was to happen was not going to be nice. Instantly, he was proven correct as a powerful explosion tore between the two and sent him flying into a wall. He hadn't even seen them attack, and they were already battling.

Shinko sighed lightly as the smoke cleared, and flapped a bit away with her wings. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt much more comfortable in this body. It was as though she was meant for this body, but she knew she wasn't at the same time. Sure, she had heard him call these her true wings, but that meant nothing to her. She was only like this because she was determined to protect her friends and family.

She silently shook that off as she faced against Kyofu. She saw what he was, and saw that he was everything that she wasn't, but that she was also everything he wasn't. She knew that the time had come, and threw her Shadow Ball at him. He countered with his own, and an explosion came as they hit. They then blew away the smoke before launching strong Psychics at each other. Once again, another explosion came.

For what could have been hours, or even minutes or years, the two kept throwing powerful attacks at each other. Neither moved a muscle unless they were getting read to throw or launch their attack. Both were starting to get exhausted, but neither were ready to give in just yet. It may have been quicker, but neither were going to stop. Even if it lasted forever, neither were going to let the other win.

"This... ends... now!" Shinko cried out as she rushed forward. "I am tired of this battle, and I am tired of you! With my last bit of strength, I will strike you down! Last Resort!"

Her body instantly became surrounded in white as she slammed into Kyofu. As soon as she did, she turned and slammed into him repeatedly. To Aaron, who was just barely conscious from all the explosions, she looked like a white blur repeatedly slamming and encircling Kyofu. If he knew any better, he'd try to get up and help her, but he knew he just couldn't.

As soon as he stood, he looked over to see that Shinko's glow had faded away and that she had been forced back by Kyofu. Her wings were now torn to shreds an the white around her body was fading. but so was Kyofu's. They both looking weak, but Aaron still couldn't interfere. There was something going between them, and it kept him away.

"You're strong for such a puny runt," Kyofu panted as he tried to step forward. "I must admit that you have shocked me with your powers and control over these powers. Even if it has been about a millennia since we last battled, you sure have honed your skills."

"Not once in my life did I think I would be like this," Shinko growled as she limped forward as well. "I can now see that not only am I more powerful than ever before, but that this was my destiny from the very beginning. It's time to move on, Kyofu. It's time to end this."

Kyofu's eyes widened before Shinko suddenly burst into light. He could feel as her powerful light tore through his body, and pushed back against her. However, he soon collapsed under her power, and was forced back from his shadows. He could feel himself weakening as they were torn from his body, and knew that it was the end. His mortal body, now without its shadows, was starting to fall apart.

"This isn't the end," he growled. "One day, I will come back. When I do, you better be ready to get your asses kicked."

"Save it for Hell," Shinko growled. "You'll need that mouth for that place."

Kyofu gave out a final cry as he suddenly disappeared. Shinko's light soon faded showing nothing where he had once stood, but soon collapsed to her side as well. Aaron rushed over to her side and started to nudge her. He could feel her body getting cold, and she too was starting to disintegrate. She then opened her eyes, smiling to him once more.

"I knew that I would have to leave one day, but I didn't know it'd be so soon," she whispered softly. "I wish we could have been together for longer, but we both know that this is my end. When I die, tell everyone about what happened up here on this mountain. Let the world know just what they were saved from. Thank you for being with me from the very beginning, Aaron. I'll... miss you."

Shinko smiled softly as she then shut her eyes. Her body started to fade away in his paws, and he could feel as tears started to pour from his face. He quickly wiped the tears away, however, as she then faded away along with the dark sphere around the top of the peak. He sniffed softly before turning away and starting on his way down the mountain. A story needed to be shared today.


	11. The End

_/Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I only own the story, characters, and this picture. Goodbye..._

Aaron sighed as he opened his eyes and smiled brightly. He sat on the edge of the cliff where he and Shinko had made the promise to become their strongest together. Many years had long since passed since the day Shinko had died for them. Of course, all because of him, there was now a festival held for her every year that demonstrated the battle between Shinko and Kyofu. Aaron always made sure to be there for auditions as he was the only one who had been there who hadn't died.

Aaron quickly shook his head as he then looked up and to the bright blue sea. The sun was just starting to rise now, so the waves actually looked like little waves of energy that came from the sun. During the sunrise, Aaron could see as the water turned orange for a bit before turning back to a bright blue. This continued on for a bit more, but soon ended. Aaron, just like the waves, soon moved from his spot and headed to town.

It's been nearly twenty years since the incident on Eclipse Mountain, and so the festival was now starting to get into swing. Tonight, he'd be taking part in a play that would demonstrate what had happened during the battle. Of course, he wouldn't be doing anything too important, but he would be narrating what happened during the battle. This would be his first time, and he was more than excited for it.

Shaking his head, he silently headed down the dirt path where so many memories were held. He quickly shook off the thoughts as he pushed into the forest and down an oddly familiar trial until he reached a river. Once there, he silently started to follow it. He could feel the soft spray of the water, but didn't seem to mind it as he just walked.

After some time, he finally stopped and sat next to the water. He then looked down and into his reflection. He could see bags hanging from under his eyes showing just how tired he was, but the one thing that caught his sight was the grey fur now surrounding most of his face. He knew he was getting old, and it wouldn't be long before he eventually fell and suffered the same fate Shinko had.

With a sigh, he then pulled away, but instantly stopped as he turned his head to a familiar bush. He saw it rustle a few more times, but didn't head for it. Instead, he looked around before silently slinking into hidden bush and watching the outside. He didn't know why, but there was something so familiar about it all.

Before long, he could see as a familiar shape silently padded down the river. He poked his head out just a bit more to see a Rockruff that looked oddly like him. He watched as he pushed through the bush where the rustling had come from, and soon pushed from his own bush. He sighed lightly, but the soft crunching of leaves told him that something was behind him.

"It looks like the story's about to repeat itself," an oddly familiar voice whispered. "I am quite surprised to see you here this time, brother. Last time, I watched as you did this on your own and without help. I was quite surprised."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I don't need it, Leo," Aaron sighed before turning to face the Midnight Lycanroc. "I told you to leave me alone many years ago, and I thought you'd hold onto the promise you made, but apparently not. You never shut up, and I just want to be free from you."

"I'm sorry if I annoy you, Aaron, but you must know it's because I'm your brother," Leo sighed as he sat down. "Why don't you sit and listen while I talk and explain to you?"

Aaron sighed lightly as he looked behind him, but saw nobody. He was a bit worried about them being heard, but sat nonetheless. it was a bit odd to be with his brother after so long, but didn't let that bother him as he then focused on him. Sure, it was a bit odd and all, but they were used to being like that with each other.

"So, as you should know by now, this world is trapped in a loop of time," Leo sighed lightly. "Every twenty-two years, everything repeats all over again, but nobody ever seems to notice because they're dead by the time of the next reset. Since it will be your time to die soon, I want you to promise to stop the loops using whatever means you can. I now it sounds odd, but I don't want to live like this every twenty-two years."

"I would accept, but I'm retired," Aaron sighed as he shook his fur. "If you couldn't tell, I haven't gone on an adventure in fifteen years. I'm not going back to rescuing anyone or anything. Once I'm dead, I'll finally be free, and I'm going to take that chance. Unlike what you believe, I'm going to just let everything repeat itself over and over. I'm not messing with anything else."

"What do you think Shinko would do?" Leo then asked. "You said she died to save our world. Would you like to see her die over and over and over again? I know it's a lot to ask of you, but we want her to li-"

"No," Aaron said simply as he stood. "I told you that I am retired, so I'm not going to do anything. I truly do love Shinko, but I don't care about anything anymore. I just want to be with her, and messing with time isn't going to fix that. Besides, time always has a way of fixing itself. If I could mess with time, then anyone could. Now go away and leave me out of this. I'm not going to stop anything."

Aaron then left Leo behind, and didn't look back as he padded away. He wanted to save Shinko, but it was far too late for him to do anything to even put a dent in it. He could stop the battle, but then the world would be destroyed. he could also fight the darkness, but he knew he was much too weak for it. he just wasn't going to mess with time. Instead, he was just going to let it all resume like normal. Even if it did mess with his life, he was going to let it continue as it always had.

"After all, time is just something that we made up," Aaron said. "Time isn't real, so none of this is real either. Like all things in this world, time is just a word used by us to show that we don't understand anything else. Perhaps this is why I am like I am. Perhaps that is why this is the end of my story, but the beginning of another. As a wise man once said, 'When one door closes, another must open.'"

 _/And that there is the end of the story. I know this chapter was the shortest of it all, but that was because I couldn't think of anything good for an ending that was about nine to eleven pages. Anyways, I am thankful to all of those who read this, and I am rather grateful. Thank you so much for reading all this. For now, this is goodbye._


End file.
